REVIEW: A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

3D is all the craze now. Hopefully it dies out soon. It's not that 3D is bad, well actually, yes it is. For every good 3D film like Avatar or Martin Scorsese's Hugo, you also get a bag full of films that become unbearable to watch because of horrendous and distracting 3D. Luckily for me I did not watch this film in 3D or I most likely would not have enjoyed it at all. A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas easily falls into the category of horrible 3D films. 3D is an excuse to milk the film for all its worth. This film is the weakest of the three, however that does not mean there are no laughs to be had.

After enjoying the first two installments, I immediately questioned why the third one was going to be in 3D. The first two had no elements that demanded the extra dimension. What could a stoner flick possibly offer in 3D? I suppose Director Todd Strauss-Schulson tries to answer this question throughout the film with a random assortment of unnecessary objects being thrown at the screen. Anything you can imagine is thrown at the audience; hats, confetti, eggs, and even Kumar's clay-mated penis. There are moments in the film that I assume would allow viewers who are high to have intensified trips due to the 3D, but I still do not see that as a justification for the 3D. In 1968 when Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey was released, there were many movie goers who would sneak into the theater for the film's final twenty minutes for a very intense trip. That film is renowned for its visuals without the use of 3D. Watching the film without 3D confirmed my suspicion that the film would have done better without 3D, because it would have removed all of the pointless 3D gags.

The film takes place a few years after the second one. Harold is having his in-laws over for Christmas. He moved out of his apartment and lives in a new house. This house is so well decorated for Christmas that it even rivals that of the Griswold's themselves. Speaking of the Griswold's, go watch Christmas Vacation for a truly funny Christmas movie. Kumar still lives in the original apartment and his social life remains unchanged. The plot is simple: Harold's father-in-law(Danny Trejo) has a special tree brought to the house. Meanwhile Kumar receives a package postmarked for Harold and so he travels to Harold's house to drop the package off. As you may guess, inside the package is a huge joint which Kumar smokes. Unsurprisingly the special tree catches on fire and as a result, it becomes Harold's mission to find a twelve foot Douglas Fir before 2 A.M. Christmas morning. The rest follows the same formula as the previous two, albeit less effective.

I felt this film was abusing the fact that it was a stoner comedy. I honestly do not see the humor in Santa Claus smoking out of a bong, or watching Kumar and Patton Oswalt smoking and blowing smoke rings at each other for two minutes. I thought it was great that Patton Oswalt was a mall Santa who actually sold weed. Just as I thought it was great that Harold accidently shoots Santa in the head with a shotgun. However the humor is stripped once the above mentioned is introduced. Being extreme for the sake of being extreme is not always the best answer.

Santa getting shot in the face is funny. Santa smoking out of a bong is not.

However all this negativity does not mean the movie did not provide laughs, as it did. One of the more memorable bits was the clay-mation scene. While the content was not exactly funny, the idea of these two characters in a raunchy clay-mation was actually quite brilliant. I feel that this in itself would work well as a short film, or something of that nature. Neil Patrick Harris is back yet again as himself. He and real-life partner David Burtka, provide a great comedic approach to their actual relationship. Neil reveals that their relationship is all a lie solely so he can score with many women, as they now get closer to him because of his apparent homosexuality. I thought this was great and I appreciate the fact that the two would be open to such an idea being portrayed on screen. There are other scenes that are pretty funny, like the aforementioned Santa getting shot, as well as one involving the RZA.

Overall A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas fails to bring anything new to the series, which can be said about most films that do not truly deserve sequels. The film works great as a at-home popcorn flick. However if a fourth film is in fact made, which seems highly likely, the studios would be wise to drop the 3D gimmick. 

1.5/4 Muffins