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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
New Line Cinema

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay reviews


6.8

based on 27 reviews
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How did we calculate this?

based on 73 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language and drug use

Starring John Cho, Kal Penn, Rob Corddry, Roger Bart, Neil Patrick Harris, Kal Penn, Rob Corddry, Roger Bart, and Neil Patrick Harris

Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay marks the triumphant return of these two hilarious, slacker anti-heroes. Their last adventure found them traveling across country to find a White Castle hamburger in order to satisfy a weed-induced case of "the munchies." This time, the boys get themselves in trouble trying to sneak a bong on board a flight to Amsterdam. Now, being suspected of terrorism, they are forced to run from the law and try to find a way to prove their innocence. What follows is an irreverent and epic journey of deep thoughts, deeper inhaling and a wild trip around the world that is as "un-PC" as it gets. (New Line Cinema)

GENRE(S):	Adventure \| Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Jon Hurwitz Hayden Schlossberg
DIRECTED BY:	Jon Hurwitz Hayden Schlossberg
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: July 29, 2008 Theatrical: April 25, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	102 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Austin Chronicle Josh Rosenblatt

Anyone can come up with jokes about incestuous rednecks or pubic hair that "looks like Osama bin Laden's beard," but it takes guts to make a comedy in which the Indian-American hero accuses an African-American TSA agent of racial profiling, all so he won't get caught smuggling weed onto a plane.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

The big payoff, of course, is Neil Patrick Harris reprising his role as "Neil Patrick Harris."

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

It's not exactly high art, but it's certainly high.

Premiere Jenni Miller

At the screening I attended, someone walked in wearing a shirt that read "I HEART BONGS," so that gives you a pretty good idea of the target audience. Maybe this time they will rouse themselves from the couch and make it possible for us to follow Harold and Kumar through more adventures.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Precisely because their attitudes are so bluntly hedonistic and apolitical, Harold and Kumar manage to be fairly persuasive when they get around to criticizing the status quo, which the movie has the wit to acknowledge itself as part of.

Variety Joe Leydon

An over-the-top and beyond-PC comedy that sometimes deftly, sometimes slapdashedly infuses party-hearty anarchy with hectoring moral outrage.

The New Yorker David Denby

They are Abbott & Costello with dirty mouths--indomitable, ungovernable, and possibly immortal.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

Honestly, the most shocking thing put forth in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay just might be the proposition that George W. Bush is actually a pretty cool guy.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

That rare sequel that builds on the movie that came before it without crushing its attributes to death. "Escape" doesn't feel belabored. Giddy, freewheeling and sweet-natured, it pulls off the effect of seeming spontaneous, a tall task by itself.

Time Richard Corliss

Harold and Kumar are pothead patriots in the first feel-good torture film.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Harold and Kumar, fortunately, never lose their verbally relentless way of delivering raunch as pure common sense.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

If only the wit weren't overwhelmed by lame jokes about body parts, functions and fluids.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Mostly, Harold is a guilty pleasure that retains the anarchic charms of the original.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The movie is unpolished, unabashedly un-PC, and takes on as many "sacred cows" as it can uncover in a slightly-too-long 105 minutes.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

No political tract, but it can be surprisingly bold.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The jokes all revolve around weed, stereotypes, and Neil Patrick Harris; the stereotype stuff is by far the funniest.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Among the variations of gags from the original are a threesome involving Harold, Kumar and a giant bag of marijuana.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Is a truly political stoner movie even possible? The entire point of getting high is to take some of the sting out of life. The movie goes after easy targets and goes soft on the harder issues.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

It exploits post-9/11 anxieties as fodder for goofball gooniness. "Dr. Strangelove" it's not.

The Hollywood Reporter John DeFore

Lacks the fresh charm that made their first such an unexpected (if guilty) pleasure.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Mostly dumb, no matter how desperately and even valiantly it aims for "thinky."

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

It can devote itself entirely to bodily functions or, having established its grossness quotient, take the high road toward satire like its 2004 predecessor, "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle." It fails mainly because it does neither.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

You find yourself smiling at some of the bits, wincing through many, many others, and ultimately wondering if the pacing would've improved had either H or K developed a terrible cocaine habit.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The movie is sporadically funny in an anarchistic way. But Cho and Penn don't have the needed personality or comic identity to sustain a franchise and their non-drug humor is so crude and scatological that -- to say the least -- it leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.

New York Daily News Joe Neumaier

It's a big fat missed opportunity.

Slate Dana Stevens

It betrays the spirit of the stoner comedy, which has traditionally been subversive--when it wasn't detailing the love affair between two marginally functional young men and their stash of sweet, sweet herb.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

A largely mind-numbing experience.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.8 (out of 10) based on 73 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Carl W gave it a10:
Absolutely hilarious! I am in the 30-45 demographic and loved it. Sure a lot of the jokes are cheap toilet humour but there was a lot more to the movie than that. I give the movie a 10 even though there were some parts I didn't like because it was just so funny, clever and well directed. Rober Corddry as the Homeland Security Officer is pure gold. Seriously anyone who disliked this movie and I can see that a few people gave it a zero, should take a long hard look at themselves.

Paul F. gave it an8:
Basically much more funny than I thought it would be. I thought it was just going to be a big underlining political statement. There were a couple of priceless scenes, especially the ones with George W. Bush and Dougie Howser (Neil Patrick Harris). Though a bit formulalic (saw the first one after seeing this one) I really hope the make a third one. Harold and Kumar go together like Cheech and Chong but better as their personalities are distinctive from one another. In any case I highly recommend this movie but not for those who do not like crude humor as this definitely has its share. The movie does not depend on it but simply uses all mediums at it disposal.

Joe S. gave it a0:
We loved the first one. This one is awful. Explicit nudity and excessive crudity substitute for clever humor. What a disappointment!

e c gave it a6:
Joe A. used the term "anti-racist" for someone who makes fun of white people. ummm, last time i checked, that's just "racist." there's no "reverse-racism" or "anti-racism" . . . the definition of racism is: racial prejudice or discrimination. if you are an African-American and you hate whites, you are racist. if you are white and you hate African-Americans, you are racist. sorry, that comment just bothered me a lot.

Chris P. gave it a0:
One of the greater regrets in my life was not stopping myself from leaving the room where the movie was playing. The jokes fall into the f-yeah, beer, boobs, weed, 18-24 range that can drive anyone crazy.

Michael A. gave it a10:
One of the best stoner movies to have come out in the last four years! I say it is just as good as the original, not better, but just as good. There are a lot of references to other stoner movies, and a lot of inside jokes from things that happened in the first movie. The soundtrack is the best I have heard in any stoner movie since Cheech & Chong Up In Smoke, and it definately rips that cookie-cutter BS from the first film. There are a lot of male genitalia jokes throughout the film, so if one is turned off or intimidated by that kind of humor, that could be viewed as something to watch out for. Overall I would say this movie is a must for everyone to watch, and a necessity for any stoner DVD collection. With tons of features and the ability to re-arrange the entire trip, this DVD has lots of replay value! P.S. Toughing out the credits could yield a nice surprise.

Joe T. gave it a4:
SPOILER This mislabeled sequel doesn't even have much to do with Gitmo. Any opportunity lost. Probably a '6', but am so disappointed by how unfunny and toothless this sequel turned out.

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay New Line Cinema

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
New Line Cinema