Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay was certainly not my choice of Sunday night viewing but as it was Ciao`s product of the week and I am trying to raise as much money as possible for charity I gave it a go in order to be able to review it.

Ridiculous, outrageous, stupid, politically incorrect but still funny in places would probably be my initial way to describe this movie. The script and the actions of the two is probably best suited to teenagers and their sense of humour but there were moments throughout the movie that I have to admit raised a smile in me.

THE STORY

Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay is actually a follow on from the first movie in the series which I have to admit I have not seen. Having read a bit about the first on IMDB, it appears that this one picks up exactly where the last left off.

Harold, played by John Cho has become besotted, perhaps even obsessed with his girlfriend Maria, played by Paula Garces. Maria has jetted off to Amsterdam on a modelling job and Harold is determined to follow on, so with friend Kumar, played by Kal Penn in tow he too sets off for Amsterdam.

With these two guys being real stoners and Amsterdam being well known as the cannabis capital of the world, you would expect this to cause all sorts of problems but the fact is the two do not even make it off the plane without being in big trouble.

Kumar reveals to Harold that he has made a smokeless bong so they can get stoned on the plane, however the device appears to the other passengers to be some sort of explosive device and assume that Harold and Kumar are terrorists. The pair are detained by the air marshals and sent to Guantanamo Bay without trial.

The conditions inside Guantanamo bay are horrendous and the fact that Harold wants to be with his girlfriend lead to the pair taking advantage of an opportunity to escape, once on the run they must try to clear themselves of any wrong doing or they will be thrown straight back in as soon as they are caught.

I personally though the story line was fairly weak and really it has all been done before although I can see why this would appeal to the younger people because it is very immature humour at times.

The whole thing pushes the boundaries a bit which I actually quite like, I hate political correctness and what it is doing to this country and I love the fact that this movie takes it down a peg or two but really it is all a bit silly with no great acting and no real appeal.

The movie is full of what teenagers like including some nudity thrown in here and there (I did not mind the nudity either) and i will probably sound older than my years by slagging this movie off but it was no blockbuster, won't be winning any awards and really was not all that funny either.

THE MAIN CAST

John Cho ... Harold Lee
Kal Penn ... Kumar Patel
Rob Corddry ... Ron Fox
Jack Conley ... Deputy Frye
Roger Bart ... Dr. Jack Beecher
Neil Patrick Harris ... Neil Patrick Harris
Danneel Harris ... Vanessa Fanning
Eric Winter ... Colton Graham
Paula Garcés ... Maria

DVD DETAILS

Certificate 18 (due to offensive language and nudity)
Runtime - 107 minutes
Audio - English Dolby
Video - Widescreen 16.9

(I cannot comment on extras because the copy I had was rented and therefore had none)

OVERALL OPINION AND RECOMMENDATION

This is not a movie I would recommend to people in general but if this type of thing is your scene then you will probably get something from it. The humour is few and far between and it really offers little in the way of story line.

I feel a bit more effort on the one liner`s in this movie could have created a few more laughs that would have seen it improve a little but I doubt there is much anyone could have done to make me really enjoy this movie, except perhaps switch it off.

Perhaps the only good thing about this DVD is that if you do want to watch it then you will almost certainly find it in the bargain bucket and indeed I have seen it in Asda for £5 (still overpriced at that if you ask me)!

It gets a 3/10 from me and I might be being a bit kind at that!!

Thanks for reading!

© thebigc1690