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The 12 Daze of Christmas

It's been six years since they escaped from Guantanamo, and the lives of Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) have taken different turns. Harold has risen up the corporate ladder, is married, and lives in suburbia, while Kumar is unemployed and alone, still living in their old apartment. A mysterious package, left at Kumar's door and addressed to Harold, causes their paths to cross again. And then Christmas goes up in smoke.

Like "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" (and unlike "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay"), "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" focuses on a single goal: instead of finding a White Castle, now they must find a new Christmas tree. And, aside from a buzzkill stop in a Ukrainian gangster's home, the antics move at a delirious speed.

An obvious change in this third installment is the use of 3D, which is normally a needless distraction that undermines the suspension of disbelief it's intended to support. Fortunately (and amazingly) it is not out of place in this movie. The stoner context lends itself to trippy or comic 3D effects, and we are treated to a new dimension of the main characters' warped perspectives. The 3D itself is immediately referenced in the movie, with the claim that it's so great "it will make Avatar look Avatarded!" Thanks to some spiked eggnog, there is also the added kick of a 3D Claymation segment.

Harold and Kumar each have a new BFF. Adrian (Amir Blumenfeld) is Kumar's McLovin-type neighbor. Todd (Tom Lennon) is Kumar's Niles Crane-type neighbor, who has his baby with him throughout the adventure. The jealous dynamic between this foursome adds a sentimental layer to the movie, but only flirts with the "bromance" label.

Of course the gift everyone is hoping to get is Neil Patrick Harris (as himself) who does in fact return from the last movie, and from the dead (which is a long story but involves a Heavenly handjob and a cockblocking Jesus). NPH is possibly even more over-the-top here, hosting a Rockettes extravaganza, and only pretending to be gay in order to get showgirls into his supposedly safe dressing room.

Not all the humor is a hit. Todd's baby inadvertently gets high on pot, coke, and ecstasy. Although this is the kind of audience that would find that funny, the joke gets old. Likewise, the Waffle-Bot that NPH gives Kumar wears out its welcome, and as a source of comedy seems, well, mechanical.

For all the debauchery and depravity that is expected, there is something more mature about this movie than its predecessors. "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" may have more in common with "A Christmas Story" than "Bad Santa", as the real goal of the movie is not so much finding a new tree as finding an old friend.