Kumar and Harold Need That Tree On Christmas Eve

 I had a previous Letterboxd review, but decided to include that in the comments instead. This was the one I ultimately came up with for A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas (2011):

A heartwarming story of friendship reunited on Christmas Eve, as Harold, a Wall Street success story (much to the chagrin of protesters not just carrying picket signs), and Kumar (having been kicked out of med school but just needing a little push towards making a rebound and recovering his broken relationship), must find a tree in the city while escaping possible danger (a notorious gangster and his hitmen, looking to get even for a "slight misunderstanding). Harold just wants his father-in-law to like him since he loves his wife and wants her to be as happy as possible.

Oh, and there is lots of weed. Lots and lots of weed. And just a wee bit of oddball 3D. Oh, and Santa smoking a bong as he tells us, Merry Christmas...after a long night's work and shotgun wound to the head patched up by Kumar (responsible), who could blame him really?

And then this one:

I just imagined the script for this movie today sitting in a producer’s office getting a good going over by an Approval Manager with a clipboard as they start nodding their head, “Nope, that won’t do. And, nope, that won’t do.” By the end, the film – about Harold needing to find a tree that looks almost identical to his father-in-law’s grown-from-the-ground tree, burned to a crisp by Kumar’s lit massive blunt during Christmas Eve – would probably be about 20 or so minutes long. I’m thinking they might let Todd’s weed high (and later cocaine high) baby jokes slide. Not sure the teenage rape joke where Harold and Kumar are marked for death by the virgin daughter’s Russian mobster father (who enjoys his Madea movies and ice cream!) and his thugs scene or arc would make it past the first cut, however. The claymation sequence complete with a giant snowman monster rampaging through the city and decimating the hot dog vender (with Kumar impressed with his claymation member) kicks serious ass, though! The White Castle trip with Seth (converted to Catholicism) and Andy (his Jewish buddy taking him to task for what he considers to be a farce of a conversion) meeting up with Harold and Kumar is so quick but fun. The wafflebot can bring love and freshly made waffles complete with maple syrup to kids all over. Over the top NPH hooked on crack and “playing pretend”, much to the shock of a dancer in a stage play of his in the dressing room, is quite a twist…I do wonder if that joke (“misdirection” according to his movie character) could ever make the cut as long as NPH was there to give permission. I think it’s safe to say the Jesus jokes would remain in.