Reznet

Escapist Entertainment

By Nancy Kelsey

Who would have ever thought that the guys who starred in the ridiculous-sounding movie about White Castle would bring laughs amid political and social undertones in "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay?"

In this movie, John Cho and Kal Penn star as the title characters who start out in pursuit of the pot-smoking-capital-of-the-world Amsterdam. After attempting to smuggle a high tech bong on board the flight, they are mistaken for terrorists and sent to a prison in Guantanamo Bay.

At the mercy of a colorfully ignorant Homeland Security detective, they are mistaken for a North Korean/Al Qaeda alliance though the two are born-and-raised Americans.

When two actual terrorists attempt an escape from the prison, Harold and Kumar take advantage too. Homeland Security is hot on their trail immediately after.

From there they end up on a decrepit raft full of Cuban immigrants, the basement of inbreeding Southerners, in an Alabama ghetto and reunited with their friend Neil Patrick Harris from the first movie among other craziness.

Lastly, they end up smoking up with the president and engage in a forced philosophical chat about government. It is somewhat interesting but dragged out.

The dialogue of note in this movie is about race. It is the kind of humor all of the White people in the theatre seemed to be scared to laugh at. In this time of over-political-correctness, it is no wonder.

In this movie this dialogue is executed purposefully, though.

The race jokes seem to show how trivial racial differences are by making fun of them. No race is really left out. There is even a slight nudge at Natives when the Homeland Security guy refers to Kumar's Indian-American father as "chief" mistaking him for American Indian. The perpetuation of racial stereotypes is strategic in that they are demonstrated literally and exposed for how truly outlandish they are.

The political tone of the movie was also clever as it hinted at advocacy for citizens' right to question government. In fact, it is the note on which the movie ends.

Though there are parts of this movie that are funny only for middle-school boys, there are many scenes that redeem it. Look out for the scene in which Harold is referred to as "Hello Kitty." As un-politically correct as it may be, it gave me a lengthy chuckle when I was first shocked and humored by it. This is about as unrealistic as a plot can get, but the tradeoff is good — several moments of hilarity.

For its no-holding-back racial humor and more sophisticated themes, I give this movie three frybreads.

Nancy Kelsey, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, is studying journalism at the University of Nebraska graduate school in Lincoln. She is a graduate of the Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute. She interned as a reporter at The Seattle Times last summer. Next summer she'll report for The Associated Press in Boston.