Ryan ChartrandHarold and Kumar have the munchies – again. And this time, it takes them all the way to Cuba in their newest movie, “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay,” which opens in theaters today.
A sequel four years in the making, the biracial pair of Harold and Kumar – played by John Cho and Kal Penn – are now finding trouble on an international level. And even the actors suggest the sequel has more to offer.
“Well, first and foremost, I would say that this one, the new movie, has a plot,” Cho said during a conference call on April 9.
The movie does indeed have a plot, and it’s a complicated one at that. The two stoned slackers are no longer wandering the wilderness for delicious White Castle burgers; they’re trying to outrun authorities who suspect they’re terrorists.
The movie starts off with the boys having just completed their White Castle run. An hour or two later, they decide to head to Amsterdam – go figure – to find Harold’s love interest, some busty babe named Maria.
Unfortunately, Kumar just can’t leave home without his bong, which ends up being mistaken for a bomb. A lot more is at stake this time around besides some burgers, and while the boys try to prove their innocence, hilarity and grossness ensue (of course). Both Neil Patrick Harris and Chris Meloni make cameos.
And this time, they aren’t afraid to bring politics into the picture.
“I don’t think it’s a political film in terms of taking a stance on anything, but definitely it inherently deals with some of the pop culture that surrounds the political sphere right now. I mean, we’ve got a caricature of President Bush in the movie, so you can’t deny that you’re playing with the idea of politics,” Penn said.
But don’t expect to see “Harold and Kumar 3: Munchies in Iraq” in theaters any time soon. It turns out Penn isn’t too fond of the genre, even though it’s what he has become best-known for participating.
“I’m not comfortable doing that sort of stuff at all, which is why you do it as an actor,” Penn said. “If you played characters that were similar to you all the time, it would be pretty boring, I think. I don’t watch a lot of comedies, and I don’t watch a lot of gross-out comedies.”
Penn added he didn’t see himself reprising the role of Kumar in the future.
On the other hand, Cho is open to the idea of possibly playing Harold in the future, despite his lucrative future playing Captain Hikaru Sulu in the latest addition to the Star Trek movie franchise.
“I think it would depend on how people react to this one,” Cho said of the possibly of another “Harold and Kumar.” “Really it just depends on whether people vote with their dollars for this movie, just like the first one.”