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Avg. Critic Score: 61 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Merrily outrageous, over-the-top fun. Read full review

  • 75
    Slant Magazine | Nick Schager

    Overflows with inspired craziness, doling out an all-night odyssey of sex-centric crises, death-defying conflicts, and Neal Patrick Harris-centered insanity with snowballing momentum, as bits pile on top of bits with intoxicating verve. Read full review

  • 75
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Because the "Harold & Kumar'' universe seesaws so delicately between the subversively smart and the ineffably stupid, even the lamest jokes get a witty spin - and even the cleverest ideas can turn into groaners. Read full review

  • 75
    New York Post | Lou Lumenick

    There are moments of brilliance, like a claymation sequence that manages to simultaneously send up '60s holiday cartoons and "Ghostbusters'' (with Frosty the Snowman instead of Marshmallow Man). Read full review

  • 63
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Carrie Rickey

    Think of it as"Airplane"! with controlled substances. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Harold and Kumar's Christmas movie is silly, if uneven, fun. While it mocks 3-D technology, it also makes relatively fresh use of it and qualifies as the most ambitious of the trio of films. Read full review

  • 60
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    A mildly diverting naughty comedy, lacking the pure comic nastiness of "Bad Santa" or the sheer audacity of "Up in Smoke." Read full review

  • 55
    Movieline | Stephanie Zacharek

    It's an extravaganza of bad taste that in the end just tastes bad. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Amy Biancolli

    Let us recall that the first film was, in its blithely vulgar way, hilarious. And let us demand a moratorium on coked-out-baby jokes, which seriously kill the buzz. Read full review

  • 25
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    We're getting more of the same, but less of the impact, like weed from a bad dealer. Read full review

View more reviews for A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Raucous, crude stoner comedy is funny but not for kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that the third "Harold and Kumar" stoner comedy follows the best pals on a late-night Christmas Eve adventure in which they rediscover their lost friendship ... and, in the process, get really, really high. There are endless scenes featuring drugs and drug references (including a recurring gag with a drug-taking baby), plus tons of swearing ("f--k," "s--t," and much more), graphic violence, crude comments, gratuitous nudity (male and female, boobs and butts), suggestions of underage sex, and teen drinking. All of that said, the film does have heart, and Harold and Kumar's friendship -- as always -- is a strong one.
  • Families can talk about the movie's messages about drugs and drug use. Do you think this is an accurate depiction of social attitudes about marijuana? Why or why not? Does the movie address any of the consequences of drug use? As a comedy, is it expected to?
  • Also, how does the movie portray teen sex and drinking?
  • How do Harold and Kumar change over the course of the film? Why is Kumar so reluctant to grow up? Why do you think the friends drifted apart? Does their friendship seem believable? Were drugs really the only thing that could bring them back together?
The good stuff
  • message true1 Positive messages: Amid all of the satire and drug- and sex-fueled humor is the idea that good friends look out for each other, through thick and thin. Even when Harold and Kumar start to grow apart, there's really nothing that can take away their many years of companionship.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: There's lots of very iffy behavior here, but despite the constant pot smoking, Harold is a responsible (if slightly stiff) family man, and Kumar finally starts to grow up. Some of the movie's humor is based on racial stereotyping.
What to watch for
  • violence false4 Violence: Lots of graphic violence, including slit throats, people who are burned, gunshot wounds spurting blood, car crashes, explosions, fires ,and an explicit shot of a man's penis getting maimed. Much of this is meant to contribute to the film's humor, but it's still pretty explicit.
  • sex false5 Sexy stuff: Many crude sexual references and both male and female nudity (boobs and butts), as well as a few brief on-screen sex scenes and suggested sex acts. Purported images of genitals are presented in a cartoonish way. A man appears to masturbate while giving a back rub to a partially clothed woman. Another man in his 20s spends a lot of time discussing his plans to deflower a virgin, who appears to be either under age or barely of legal age.
  • language false5 Language: Near-constant swearing, including "f--k," s--t," "d--k," "c--k," "p---y," "a--hole," "ass," "hell," "damn," "crap," "goddamn," "oh my God," and lots more.
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Several brands get prominent placement, including Apple products, the White Castle fast-food chain, and 3-D TVs.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false5 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Too many drug references to count. Harold and Kumar smoke marijuana repeatedly throughout the film. A raucous teen party includes beer-drinking guests who appear to be young enough to be in middle school. Other guests indulge in other drugs, including cocaine and Ecstasy. Harold and Kumar are unwittingly drugged with an unidentified substance that gives them a very vivid hallucinogenic trip. A baby is given several strong drugs (initially accidentally, but later it's less clear), and a recurring gag plays her reactions for laughs.
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A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas Movie Reviews + Ratings

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