A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
Short description
Six years after the events at Guantanamo Bay, Harold Lee and Kumar Patel have drifted apart, each settled into a different life with different friends and family. When Kumar turns up at Harold's home during the holidays with a mysterious package, an accident destroys the Christmas tree belonging to Harold's father-in-law. With the in-laws expected back soon, Harold decides to hide what happened rather than confess, and the two set out across New York City on Christmas Eve to find a replacement tree. Their search brings a series of mishaps and encounters along the way.
The film is a comedy directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, the first feature in his directing career ahead of The Final Girls and Isn't It Romantic. Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg wrote the screenplay, and Greg Shapiro produced. John Cho and Kal Penn return as Harold and Kumar, with Paula Garcés as Maria, Neil Patrick Harris as a version of himself, Elias Koteas as Sergie Katsov and Danneel Ackles as Vanessa Fanning. The production had a budget of 19 million USD.
Released in November 2011 and running 90 minutes, the film took in about 36 million USD worldwide, close to double its budget. On IMDb it holds 6.2 out of 10 from roughly 75,000 votes, and on TMDB 6 out of 10 from about 1,094 votes. Its critics' rating stands at 6.2 out of 10 from 128 reviews, broadly in line with what audiences recorded on IMDb.
What's left behind the scenes
- When Kumar and his friend Adrian pick up a Christmas tree from the market, Adrian tells Kumar: "Let's drop the tree off with this Hikaru Sulu and finally head into the city," referencing Harold's ethnicity. Notably, the actor who played Harold, John Cho, actually played Hikaru Sulu in "Star Trek" (2009).
- When the heroes arrive at the party, Kumar's neighbor asks to confirm that Kumar works at the White House, to which Kumar replies: "Yeah, right. Who would believe that?" Ironically, Kal Penn, the actor playing Kumar, temporarily left acting to work at the White House.
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