If I had to put my finger on what went wrong, I'd lay the blame largely on director Todd Strauss-Schulson's shoddy direction. The film looks and feels like a poorly made video, right down to the bad angles, cheap lighting, flimsy staging, clumsy editing and constant (and I do mean constant) use of a bumbling truly awful film score. He doesn't get much of a performance out of any of his stars, who either play things with little interest, too over the top, or way too seriously. For example, Elias Koteas, who seems to be stepping in for Christopher Meloni who's offered cameo appearances in previous pictures, is far too intimidating and mean-spirited as a kingpin drug dealer. It's like someone didn't tell him he was in a comedy.
Strauss-Schulson, a director best known for his work with College Humor, is simply out of his league here. He might end up a fine filmmaker in the future, but he allows everyone too much wiggle room and ultimately delivers one of the most unwieldy comedies of the year. The annoying 3D gimmick probably caused much frustration as well. By many accounts, shooting in the format is a major pain in the rump.
The script, from Harold & Kumar alums Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, hits all the beats, but rarely seems to find a comedic center. It's clear Hurwitz and Schlossberg wanted their characters to grow, and they try a few new angles to reach those points. But ultimately, the characters recycle the exact same lessons they learned in previous chapters. Perhaps more frustrating is that the film barely even addresses the Christmas motif that gave this movie its title. Other than a few token references here and there, and some dumb subplot about needing to get a Christmas tree, this film almost ignores Christmas all together.
While there are notable gags in the film, the only decent scenes involve self-referential humor and/or Neil Patrick Harris. Speaking of NPH, the How I Met Your Mother star delivers a surprisingly complex alter-ego this time around that proves somewhat creepy and ultimately very funny. His line "see you in the fourth one," is probably the film's funniest, while also playing rather ironic. After all, with a film as sloppy and frustrating as this, it's unlikely Harold and Kumar will ride again, at least not in the near future.
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas hits Blu-ray with three separate releases. There's a single-disc movie-only version which also includes an Ultraviolet cloud streaming copy of the film. There's a Blu-ray/DVD version (a flipper disc, yuck), which also includes an Ultraviolet copy. And there's a two-disc combo pack with includes a Blu-ray/DVD flipper, a 3D Blu-ray and the Ultraviolet copy. The BD/DVD flipper and two-disc set also include an extended cut, which runs about 6 minutes longer. Alas, this version is presented in 2D only, and is sans lossless audio.
The 3D version of Harold & Kumar is passable, at best. There are some decent and intentionally obvious sight gags that work, but it's clear director Todd Strauss-Schulson doesn't really know how to shoot in 3D. Images are bold and colorful at times, but most of the film is oddly drab and dreary, with flat depth and little pop. As such, this doesn't lend itself to an enjoyable 3D presentation. If you watch this one on Blu-ray 3D, watch it only for the somewhat humorous self-referential 3D gags. They're the only ones that work.
The 2D transfer is actually quite a bit worse. Without the guise of 3D fogging over bad lighting and awful cinematography, this film is simply not fun to watch on the format. With a video-like feel, heavy motion blur and very little depth, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas looks cheap and ugly. In fact, the only decent scenes were the flashbacks to NPH's death from the second film. The encode, at least, is good. With virtually no compression issues or banding. But with a film this poorly shot, there's little Warner/New Line could do to give this picture more of a filmic, natural appearance.
Audio is mixed in DTS-HD 5.1 MA. It's a decent, if flaky, effort overall. No crackles or mic distortions were noted. Surrounds are padded with the film's annoying score, which never seems to stop playing in the background. Bass comes in to play in all the right places, and surround effects are aggressive during the film's minor action beats. There's certainly nothing really extraordinary about this track, but it doesn't really disappoint, either. As noted, the extended cut is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 only. It's a decent track, but lacks the texture of the high-res option.
Extras for this release are oddly thin. Beyond the somewhat needless extended cut, there's a featurette exploring the film's claymation sequence, which felt way too derivative of the Community Christmas episode which pulled the same gag, and did a way better job with it. But I digress. There's also a very small handful of EPK featurettes that run about 10 minutes and a short deleted scenes reel.
A lot goes wrong in A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas, but none of it is very funny. Instead, this franchise continues to show evidence that the first film may have just been a fluke – the result of a good director, a great script and two actors who were ready to break out. With this chapter, little of that magic returns. Instead, it's a phoned-in, poorly shot effort that boasts a few laughs but no more than your usual direct-to-video effort, and that's a shame. Rent with caution.
(Like Harold and Kumar, or stoner flicks in general? Check out our latest Netflix Instant article where we pick a few more stoner films streaming on-demand.)
R.L. Shaffer is a writer for IGN Blu-ray and IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter @rlshafferIGN.
