‘Harold & Kumar’ isn’t half bad

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John Cho (Harold) and Kal Penn (Kumar) star in “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.”

By Cary Darling

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Consider it the first small gift of the holiday season.

“A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas,” the third outing for the world’s favorite interracial stoner duo, isn’t nearly as fresh and funny as the first film, “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,” nor as socially aware as the less side-splitting but semi-political and pointed “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.” But just when you think the last laugh has been wrung from this franchise — and that 3-D and Christmas movies are the last refuges of cinematic scoundrels — “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas” turns out to be a pleasant surprise.

It could’ve been titled “Harold & Kumar 3: Not Nearly as Bad as You Thought It Might Be.”

Writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg and director Todd Strauss-Schulson wisely aren’t keeping Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) trapped in a post-collegiate netherworld where no one grows up.

Harold has married girlfriend Maria (Paula Garces), has a nice house in the burbs, and a well-paying job in finance (the movie opens with a timely reference to Occupy Wall Street).

But Harold has one problem: Maria’s working-class family — especially dad (reliable character actor Danny Trejo) — can’t stand him, and they’re coming to visit for the holidays.

It’s been a long time since Harold and Kumar — who’s wasting his life in a dope-smoking haze in a shabby apartment — have seen each other.

When a mysterious box addressed to his former roomie Harold arrives on Kumar’s doorstep, he decides to track his old friend down.

Needless to say, with both Kumar and Maria’s family showing up at his house, Harold’s Christmas is not going to be a silent night.

The mechanics of a plot that becomes increasingly surreal matter less than the one-liners and sight gags, and there are plenty of them, even if many — scatalogical, sexual, or involving a baby inadvertently exposed to recreational drugs — are of the “oh no, they didn’t” variety.

Of course, “H&K” fans expect an appearance from Neil Patrick Harris and his brief but hilarious cameo, riffing off his celebrity and being gay, is nearly worth the price of admission alone.

Through it all, Cho and Penn maintain a likable camaraderie that makes even the less funny moments bearable.

Who knew that the Harold & Kumar franchise would be the gift that keeps on giving?