Following years of growing apart, Harold Lee (Cho) and Kumar Patel (Penn) have replaced each other with new friends and are preparing for their respective Yuletide celebrations. But when a mysterious package mistakenly arrives at Kumar's door on Christmas Eve, his attempt to redirect it to Harold's house ends with the "high grade" contents-and Harold's father-in-law's prize Christmas tree-going up in smoke. With his in-laws out of the house for the day, Harold decides to cover his tracks, rather than come clean. Reluctantly embarking on another ill-advised journey with Kumar through New York City, their search for the perfect replacement tree takes them through party heaven-and almost blows Christmas Eve sky high.
The first film in this series was a fun mildly successful comedy that was funny in all the right ways. The second one is a much divided film. Some loved it, but I was a part of that other group that thought it was a lazy cash grab sequel that was high on receptiveness and low on laughs. This third one released a red band trailer that was just too god damn funny to not anticipate it, so there it went, sucking back in. Only this time was different, this time it was creative, this time it was original, and this time it twas actually funny.
The story this time around isn’t as Christmas related as its advertised. Its more along the lines of an adventure film with the guys trying to find the perfect Christmas tree to replace the old one they burned down. Its linear plot moves them from outrageous scenario to outrageous scenario, but this time around they decide to try new things instead of bringing back countless cameos that the second film did. They make you laugh but never outstay their welcome. This quick pace kept the film allowing little in-between time to catch your breathe. The one reappearance that they just had to bring back was NPH playing NPH. This is the perfect definition of a cameo. He pops up, brings a ton of laughs and moves the characters right along their path. Quick, funny, and to the point. He even sends them off with a message telling them” See ya in the 4th one boys!.” Just classic. His “massage” had me rolling.
This isn’t some groundbreaking new film; it throws confetti at the screen simply because it can. With the 3D it actually looks fine. It reminds you that these characters need to comeback for another adventure because with a little effort, these films are fun. You can pretty much tell yourself if you’d give this one a go, but if you were in my situation, don’t let the second film throw away your experience with this one. It’s a hoot.
Overall Score: 6/10
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