This may be hard to believe, but there was once a time in cinema history where nearly every film being released was in 3D. Yes, it was many years ago in the late aughts and tweens of the 21st century, and thanks to a little indy flick called Avatar, it seemed like a movie couldn't be made without being in 3D. Some subversive films took the concept and used the technology as a means of satire against the 3D culture itself. Pioneers like Jackass 3D utilized this tech first as a play on words because that was the third movie in the trilogy, but also as a means of comedy. No one at the time was launching dildos (or is it dildoes?) into the audience's faces, but the makers of Jackass 3D realized somebody needed to. This groundbreaking film blazed a trail for A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas to really bring home the 3D satire.
The movie takes place several years after the event of the second film, and things aren't looking good for our favorite stoner duo in a movie trilogy. See Harold has abandoned much of his stoner past, focusing on his wife, Maria, and hopefully starting a family. Kumar on the other hand seems to be spiraling down into full-on burn out mode. He and Vanessa have broken up, he's got an intense break-up beard, and he's harassing Patton Oswalt who plays a weed-dealing mall Santa. Things are really looking grim. A new friend of his asks Kumar to come out and party with him, but Kumar refuses saying, "No can do man. I have to stay here and smoke this weed, otherwise I won't get high." Number one, it's sad to see Kumar become basically addicted to pot, which is a somewhat ridiculous thing to say, but he's in a bad place. And number two, he's invited to a party, just bring the weed?
Really how depressing he is being, Kumar agrees to go out, but finds a package on his doorstep addressed to Harold, who hasn't lived there in years. He decides to bring the package over to Harold's new place, which is decorated to high heaven with Christmas lights and lawn ornaments. The reasoning for this is that Maria's Christmas loving family is coming. The father, by the way, is played by Danny Trejo, possibly the most terrifying man on the planet. When Kumar arrives, Harold is decorating the tree which Maria's father brought all the way from Mexico where he grew it himself. The strange package contains a giant joint, which Kumar promptly lights up. After explaining that he doesn't smoke anymore, Harold throws it out the window, only to be blown back in a different window and lights the tree on fire.
Thus begins the main storyline, finding a new tree to replace Maria's father's. Joining on the adventure is one of Harold's new friends, an overly protective fuddy-duddy father of a toddler, played by Thomas Lennon. Seeing him play a stick-up-the-butt, straight-laced guy is hilarious. Actually, everything he does is hilarious.
So, much like all the other Harold & Kumar movies, things constantly go from bad to worse, as each minor screw up becomes a major catastrophe, including a car chase, mobster's party, a musical number, and being saved by a robot. Yes, there's a helpful robot. His name is Wafflebot and he's awesome. Oh, and as mentioned, the musical number is led by Neil Patrick Harris, who is somehow back from the dead after being shot by Beverly D'Angelo in the previous film. As NPH explains, he was sent to heaven, which is a nightclub owned by Jesus (played by Nick from New Girl), but when he started poaching girls from JC, Christ called his dad to have NPH sent back to earth. Makes perfect sense.
Also, because this is a Christmas movie, there's a claymation scene as an homage to those classic Christmas videos. You may think it's strange that an animated scene would occur in the middle of a live action movie, but don't worry, it's explained by the two of them being served LSD-tainted drinks.
Lessons are learned, and everything works out in the end, with Harold and Kumar's friendship back to normal. I've only seen this in 3D, so I can't speak to how enjoyable it is without the 3D, but if you've got a 3D TV or have a friend who does or whatever, and you liked the first two films, this one is definitely worth a watch. I mean, it's more of the same type of humor, but that's every comedy sequel.
Rating on the feel-good-o-meter: 5 out of 10 hugs
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