Literally. This new adventure from the weed-happy duo picks up right where White Castle left off — the morning after their quest for SlydersTM — and doesn’t slow down until the credits roll for Escape. 

It’s the morning after their trip to White Castle and Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) prepare to follow Harold’s crush, Maria (Paula Garces), to Amsterdam in an attempt to win her affections.

A brief encounter in the airport with Kumar’s ex-girlfriend, Vanessa (Dannell Harris), who is getting married, sets him on a mission to win her back.

That is, of course, after being accused of terrorism, escaping from Guantanamo Bay, drifting to Florida where they get help from their wealthy friend who is throwing a “bottomless” party, manage to have a run in with the KKK, deal with Alabama inbreds with a Cyclops baby, get some assistance from Neil Patrick Harris and finally drop in on “W” himself.

This movie is definitely tons of fun. Is Harold and Kumar the second coming of Cheech and Chong? Perhaps. It’s rare to find such good chemistry and timing between actors. The banter going back and forth is almost like sitting in a room with some of your best friends who enjoy the bickering.

Neil Patrick Harris is brilliantly shroomed-out and the duo’s time with him is as creepy and weird as it is unexpected.

There was very little to dislike in this sequel, however, I did feel like it was trying too hard to out-do the first film. The encounters in each scenario seemed a bit more extreme than in White Castle where the encounters were just perfectly random. There was much more reliance on racial, ethnic and social humor this time around. Topless girls running around… there were plenty. They even managed to work in a surprising amount of full frontal nudity for an R rated film. Makes me wonder what ended up hitting the cutting room floor to avoid the dreaded NC17.

The pursuing homeland security agent was a bit much. His delivery was so over-the-top and extreme it was almost painful to watch. This was obviously supposed to make the part humorous but he really became annoying by the end of the story.

This criticism may be a bit harsh for a film I really like but that’s based on comparisons between this movie and the first. They’re both really great fun, just in slightly different ways.

Compared to all of the other movies I’ve seen this year, it has definitely been the funniest, most entertaining comedy of ’08.

Be sure not to miss this one in the theater. It’ll be worth every penny spent. That… and Neil Patrick Harris demands it.