On DVD: Harold and Kumar Escape from the DVD Doldrums

Look, there's one thing I need to make abundantly clear before getting into the DVD release of Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. I really, really, really don't like this movie. At all. And it's not that I hate it. It's just that I had to give too large a number of my friends that sad shake of the head when they excitedly asked me about how awesome a sequel it was going to be. Like many folks out there I am positively in love with the original. In fact, one could say I'm one of its earliest fans, having seen it several months before the release at a super-secret, late-night screening intended to test how it might play to a movie-loving geek audience. I raved about this thing forever until it was released and then flopped in theaters. But just as I hoped, it found its audience on DVD where it soon became a cult classic.

What I so passionately dislike about the second is that it feels like an attempt to do too much at once -- trying to add too much commentary while systematically having to ramp up just how offensive it is. Juggling social commentary with witty observations, bizarre comedy and ultimately crude humor is a tough act. Rare troupes like Monty Python pulled it off while hundreds more tried and failed. Sometimes miserably. This movie, sadly, feels more like the latter. They simply get too crass at times, going far more over the top than its predecessor. And the comments it has to make are so simple and uninteresting, occasionally coming just shy of saying something poignant before pulling back to deliver another joke where someone farts after getting kicked in the groin.

Charming.

Now, that said, I love the DVD. Normally an UNRATED 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION screams at you with big letters only to disappoint you with a few extra scenes left on the cutting room floor (often with good reason) and a few extra seconds of a boob shot. But in this case it is clear that they had this DVD in mind from the beginning -- that is WHILE they were shooting the film. There are scads of alternate takes, deleted scenes and even a few completely different ways they get to and from places. Add to that the George W. Bush internet viral marketing campaign PSAs, two commentaries, and a "Making Of," and you've got one full, satisfying disc. Nothing to write home about per se, but exactly what you'd expect from a special edition.

But then there's the coup de grace -- the genius piece of marketing that makes this disc a keeper.

It's called DUDE, CHANGE THE MOVIE. Described on the back cover with the words: "Interactive feature puts you in control of Harold and Kumar's trip! Select from new and alternate scenes to change the course of the film! Many possible options!" And they ain't lyin'. There are no less than three alternate endings, each shot specifically for this feature. Not the kind of "This is another way we wanted to show the test audience endings," but rather endings that could only have been made for this choose-your-own-adventure style presentation.

For example, what would happen if Kumar didn't light up his bong on the plane? There's a new 20-minute, incident-free version of the film called "Harold and Kumar Go To Amsterdam." What if Harold talked Kumar OUT of trying to escape Gitmo? Yep, the movie ends there too. Another ending later in the movie comes during another of the film's plot twists. Then there's a slew of deleted scenes that you can access that were otherwise excised from the movie. Would you like to know why the FBI has Goldstein's phone tapped? No? Just buzz past. Otherwise, they're ready to offer you an extended version of the scene in question. Were you offended by the BOTTOMLESS party? How about watching the TOPLESS party version instead.

As much as I didn't enjoy the film the first time around, I had quite a bit of fun playing around with this feature the second. The geniuses that thought this up were also smart enough to make sure that if you didn't like the direction you took our intrepid potheads on, that a simple press of the skip-back button would take you immediately to the decision screen that sent you that way in the first place. I was able to sit down and take in every ending and alternate scene in one sitting, without having to endure watching several of the same sequences over and over again. Smooth, seamless and wonderfully conceived, this feature turned the act of watching this a second time into a brand new experience.

I've never felt the urge to so strongly recommend the DVD to a movie I was so disappointed with, but this really is something special, even among special editions. Anyone who enjoyed the film will simply fall in love with this set and I can honestly say that it has set a new benchmark in what can and should be done with something to be sold with the coveted (and far too often exaggerated) SE on the cover.

This past weekend it was announced that they're making a Part 3. I've got money that says they'll be doing this again. Hopefully, this time, they'll put even more time into shooting extra footage. I mean, if a movie series is going to live on DVD, why not live it up?

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