The defence The Popcorn Loyalist
“It owes the canon nothing.”
The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.
Back to trending 
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
Comedy · 2011
Six years have elapsed since Guantanamo Bay, leaving Harold and Kumar estranged from one another with very different families, friends and lives. But when Kumar arrives on Harold's doorstep during the holiday season with a mysterious package in hand, he inadvertently burns down Harold's father-in-law's beloved Christmas tree. To fix the problem, Harold and Kumar embark on a mission through New York City to find the perfect Christmas tree, once again stumbling into trouble at every single turn.
Movie details
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
“Christmas comes prematurely.”
2011 Comedy 1h 30m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.2 / 10
74.3K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
69 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
61 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Six years have elapsed since Guantanamo Bay, leaving Harold and Kumar estranged from one another with very different families, friends and lives. But when Kumar arrives on Harold's doorstep during the holiday season with a mysterious package in hand, he inadvertently burns down Harold's father-in-law's beloved Christmas tree. To fix the problem, Harold and Kumar embark on a mission through New York City to find the perfect Christmas tree, once again stumbling into trouble at every single turn.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas?
For the defence
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Nice Dreams
Comedy · 1981
Nice Dreams - it rhymes with ice creams. And that's what Cheech and Chong are selling in this thoroughly wacky comedy. The outrageous, permanently spaced-out duo sells enough of their "specially mixed" ice cream to take the cash and realize their fondest dreams: new guitars, islands in the sun and beautiful women. But, of course, not everything goes as planned. While celebrating their wealth in a new wave Chinese restaurant, Cheech meets his long-lost love Donna, and promptly escorts her to her posh penthouse. He soon learns, however, that Donna's boyfriend, an ex-con named Animal, is on his way to her boudoir. Meanwhile, Chong has unwittingly exchanged all their money for a worthless bank check - and the only way to get it back is to escape into a nearby insane asylum.
Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer
Comedy · 2024
Jimmy Carr refutes the idea that you can't joke about anything these days with his edgy takes on gun control, religion, cancel culture and consent.
Ali G, Aiii
Comedy · 2000
Ali G, Aiii, is a 100 minute compilation of the highlights of Da Ali G Show, plus 30 minutes of unseen and uncensored material that was too hardcore for TV.
Ricky Gervais Live 3: Fame
Comedy · 2007
The third of Ricky Gervais' themed live stand-up shows.
68 Kill
Comedy · 2017
Chip's problem is that he can't say no to beautiful women. This weakness gets him into a world of trouble when he agrees to help his girlfriend steal $68,000.
Ricky Gervais Live 2: Politics
Comedy · 2004
A year after Animals, Ricky Gervais comes back with his second stand up comedy tour: Politics.
Ricky Gervais Live 4: Science
Comedy · 2010
Ricky Gervais Live IV Science or the way things worked before we invented God. The hilarious fourth live smash hit stand up show from Ricky Gervais, following his complete sell out tour - filmed live at London's Hammersmith HMV Apollo
Pineapple Express
Action · 2008
A stoner and his dealer are forced to go on the run from the police after the pothead witnesses a cop commit a murder.
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Action · 1991
An American with a Japanese upbringing, Chris Kenner is a police officer assigned to the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles. Kenner is partnered with Johnny Murata, a Japanese-American who isn't in touch with his roots. Despite their differences, both men excel at martial arts, and utilize their formidable skills when they go up against Yoshida, a vicious yakuza drug dealer with ties to Kenner's past.
Fubar
Comedy · 2002
Terry and Dean are lifelong friends who have grown-up together: shotgunning their first beers, forming their first garage band, and growing the great Canadian mullet known as "hockey hair". Now the lives of these Alberta everymen are brought to the big screen by documentarian Ferral Mitchener in an exploration of the depths of friendship, the fragility of life, growing up gracefully and the art and science of drinking beer like a man.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Todd Strauss-Schulson
Written by
Jon Hurwitz · Hayden Schlossberg
John Cho
Harold Lee
Kal Penn
Kumar Patel
Paula Garcés
Maria
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris
Elias Koteas
Sergie Katsov
Danneel Ackles
Vanessa Fanning
Thomas Lennon
Todd
Court is in session
Put A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Big-Idea Head
“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”
It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.