A Very Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas

While not as consistently funny as the first H&K movie, A Very Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas is a significant improvement over the second. It’s goofy, it’s nasty and it’s a pretty great exercise in 3-D fun, too. Harold (John Cho) is a successful stockbroker now married to somewhat crazy Maria (Paula Garcés) and preparing for Christmas with his scary father-in-law (Danny Trejo, a.k.a. MACHETE!). Kumar (Kal Penn), now estranged from Harold, got kicked out of med school for drugs, lost his girl, hasn’t cleaned his apartment in months, and has taken to harassing a department store Santa (Patton Oswalt) who moonlights as a drug dealer. And let it be said, when Kumar blows pot smoke rings with Santa’s stash, they look incredible in 3-D. A mysterious package brings Harold and Kumar together again, and they embark on an adventure that includes a frantic search for a Christmas tree, an evil mobster (Elias Koteas), a glorious dancing appearance in a holiday extravaganza with the resurrected Neil Patrick Harris (he had died in the first sequel), and, most hilariously, a baby getting all sorts of accidental drug experiences. Cinemark 14. Rated R