Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is the 2008 sequel to Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.

Picking up right where the last movie left off, Harold and Kumar, fresh from their trip to White Castle, have decided to follow Harold's neighbor Maria to Amsterdam. On the plane Kumar and the bong he brought on are mistaken for a terrorist and a bomb, and Kumar, along with his "North Korean accomplise" Harold, are thrown in Guantanamo Bay. The two escape and head to Texas, pursued by an overzealous Deputy Security of Homeland Security. An old friend of theirs, Colton, is getting married to Kumar's ex-girlfriend Vanessa, and has invited president George W. Bush to the wedding. Harold wants to get a pardon; Kumar wants to ruin the wedding.

Escape was not as well liked as White Castle (compare its 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes to White Castle's 74%), thanks to Flanderization of the main characters, a reliance on gross-out humor, and far more Anvilicious message about not stereotyping others.

Another sequel, A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas, came out in 2011.

Tropes used in Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay include:
  • Angry Black Man: Subverted. Harold and Kumar's car breaks down in a nieghborhood that the two think is filled with angry black men and run off before a bunch of guys roll out equipment to help fix their car.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Beecher. After being forced to do all of Fox's dirty work, he betrays him.
  • Brick Joke/ Running Gag: The giant bag of weed from Kumar's fantasy.
  • Burn the Witch: It doesn't take much to accuse the two of being terrorists.
  • California Doubling: Averted. The scenes in Amsterdam were actually shot in Amsterdam.
  • Call Back: Neil Patrick Harris leaves Harold and Kumar in White Castle, claiming to be going "wherever God takes me." When they meet again in Escape From Guantanamo Bay, the following exchange occurs:

Kumar: What are you doing here?
NPH: This is where God took me.

Kumar: Compared to me, you look like Matthew Perry.
Security guard: Hey, who you calling 'Matthew Perry,' bitch!
Kumar: I'm calling YOU 'Matthew Perry,' you Matthew Perry-looking bitch.

Kumar: You get high and then you put other people who smoke weed in jail?
George W. Bush: Duh.
Kumar: That's so hypocritical.
George W. Bush: Oh yeah? Let me ask you something, Kumar. You like giving handjobs?
Kumar: No, sir.
George W. Bush: You like getting handjobs?
Kumar: Yeah.
George W. Bush: Well, then that makes you a fucking hypocriticizer too.

    • Ron Fox claims to be a brazen patriot... and at one point in the film he literally wipes his ass with the Fifth Amendment.
  • Improvised Microgravity Maneuvering: When Harold and Kumar are in freefall, and Kumar has to "swim" to Harold.
  • Jerkass: Ron Fox.
  • The Millstone: Kumar. Starting wiht bringing a bong on a plane, and not getting any better from there.
  • Misaimed Fandom: In-universe example. Agent Ron Fox tells Neil Patrick Harris that Starship Troopers is what inspired him to work for the government hunting terrorists. However, Starship Troopers is actually a satire of jingoistic fearmongers like Fox.
  • Mistaken for Terrorist: Kumar.
  • Mugged for Disguise: Harold and Kumar beat up two Klansmen and steal their uniforms so they can sneak through a rally.
  • Not Quite Dead: Neil Patrick Harris's Sequel Hook. Wait for the credits to finish.
  • Only Sane Man: NSA Vice Chairman Dr. John Beecher seems to be the only member of the Department of Homeland Security that's actually thinking sensibly.
  • Our Presidents Are Different: Harold and Kumar accidentally land via parachute on the Crawford Ranch and meet real life, then US President George W. Bush who keeps with his real life persona of President Buffoon but also reveals himself to be President Personable as well.
  • Pants-Free: The two seek assistance from a friend of theirs, who is hosting a bottomless party upon their arrival.

Raza: I'm sick of all the hype over topless.

  • Platonic Prostitution
  • Politically-Incorrect Villain: Ron Fox.
  • Race Tropes: Ron Fox tries to use these to get witnesses to talk, wasting grape soda for a black guy and spilling a bag of coins for Jewish people. These tactics only serve to make people more affronted by his outright racism.
  • Double Standard Rape (Male on Male): A marine at Guantanamo Bay attempts to force the characters to give oral sex.
  • Reality Subtext: The sight of Harold and Kumar causes Rob Corddry's character to rant about how "al-Qaeda and the North Koreans" must be teaming up. John Cho's father actually was a refugee from what is now North Korea, who faced near-starvation while fleeing south.
  • Refuge in Audacity: The only reason Ron Fox's exceptional racism won't make you leave in disgust is just how earnest and over the top he is about it. That and he's as dumb as a fence post.
  • Same Story, Different Names: Kumar and George W. Bush - their relationship with their dads being similar. Of course they were both high when they were making the comparison.
  • Scary Black Man: Subverted. Harold and Kumar run off the road right by a group of tough looking black guys playing basketball. The guys take off as the black guys come towards them with tools...and a spare tire. Turns out they were just offering to help the guys with their car. One of them is an orthodontist.
  • Stop Being Stereotypical: Subverted; Kumar is reluctant to become a doctor as he thinks it's an Indian stereotype. He later decides that he wants to become a doctor regardless of whether or not it's stereotypical.
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial: Airport security pulls Kumar aside for a random check.

Airport security guard: It's our job as airport security to search for all possible weapons or illegal drugs.
Kumar: So just because of the color of my skin, you assume that I have illegal drugs on me?

  • Sweet Home Alabama: The movie has its fair share of negative Deep South stereotypes, most notably the Ku Klux Klan, but there is also a sophisticated, sympathetic Southern couple that helps Harold and Kumar hide from the government. The couple is still pretty stereotypical. They're an incestuous couple with a deformed son.
  • Take That: "It'll be like Eurotrip, except it won't suck".
  • Three-Way Sex: Kumar fantasizes about this with his ex-girlfriend, Vanessa, and a giant bag of weed.
  • Toxic Friend Influence: Kumar. The film goes out of its way to point this out.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: There is a touching conversation about how the convictions of the father are passed on to the son, resulting in George W. Bush calling up his dad to tell him off.
  • What Could Have Been: In universe: The DVD shows several scenario with "Dude Change the movie" feature. The most different "Harold and Kumar Go to Amsterdam" which is initiated by Kumar not lighting bong. It is a short film with the duo narrating while no one speaks. Harold finds Maria and Kumar ends up marrying a girl named Ellie whose boyfriend was murdered. The two end up staying in Amsterdam
    This article is issued from Allthetropes. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.