There’s no fanfare, other than the lights dimming. No preshow, no announcements, not even any previews. The credits roll, and most of the people in the theater applaud.
When the end credits roll 90 minutes later, there is general applause…
Huh? How was the movie?
Well, this is a trip report, not a movie review, but let’s just say A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas was everything we expected it to be and more. While raunchy R-rated comedies are not my favorite kind of movie, I do enjoy one every now and then. Hey, I liked Hangover, and There’s Something About Mary was one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen.
Harold & Kumar aims low and hits the mark repeatedly. One of the commercials running on TV for the movie revels in its excess, saying something like, “If we cut out all the drugs, sex, and violence, this is all that would be left,” and then they show a “THE END” slide. That is an exaggeration, but not much of one.
So, in short, the film is occasionally hilarious and makes creative use of the 3D, but is way over the top in its raunch and vulgarity, much more than I prefer. And this one movie put me way past my lifetime quota of cinematic 3D penises. [highlight to read... if you dare]
Becky surprises me a bit – she had planned to tune out the movie entirely, since raunchy R-rated movies are not at all what she like to watch, plus 3D movies give her headaches. She had planned to read or work puzzles as the light allowed, or nap – and we have brought earplugs to help her do so. But she chooses instead to pay attention to the movie, just to give it a try. It is a decision she comes to regret, but at least no one can accuse her of disliking these types of movies without having seen any.
So as I started to say, when the end credits roll 90 minutes later, there is general applause. Some of the “riff-raff” section bolt for the exits right away, but we stay for all of the credits, thinking it’s the polite thing to do – after all, we are surrounded by the people who actually made the movie. This is confirmed as the credits continue, in an entertaining way: as different behind-the-scenes groups appear in the credit – editors, special effects companies, etc. – small clusters of people in the auditorium applaud. It is kind of fun to hear them celebrating their own work.
When the credits end and the lights come up, we turn around to leave… and find that the back half of the theater is mostly empty. Apparently, most of the movie-makers cut out once they saw their own names in the credits!
I am entertained by what’s on the floor on the seat next to me. I mentioned that we had the second and third seats from the aisle; well, after the movie started, a young man slipped into the open seat next to me without a word. I did notice him leave a couple of times during the movie, but he always came back. He left for good while the credits were still going, so I never even got a look at his face… but when the lights come up, at the base of his seat are two empty soda cups and three empty bags of popcorn.
Given the nature of the movie we just saw, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess he had the munchies.
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