After seeing and loving pretty much every moment of the theatrical version of Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, I had to see what the unrated version was all about. What a mistake that was.

The title tells you the basic story. The two lovable stoner buddies Harold and Kumar (John Cho and Kal Penn) are mistaken for terrorists and are sent to Guantanamo Bay where they escape and become fugitives. Hence the name Escape From Guanatanamo Bay.

Escape's theatrical release is much cruder, raunchier, and funnier than Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle (nearly crossing the line of vulgar remarks, but restrains itself from doing so, making it all the more funnier). So, the filmmakers came up with the brilliant plan to add the unrated version of the film to the DVD. Fair enough. Unfortunately, this version so willfully does the uncalled for, simply resulting in a film that is both messy and filthy.

It becomes one of those movies where the scenes are prolonged and are shot poorly, zooming up wildly on every naked female's lower region, giving off an amateur porn vibe. Most of these scenes in the unrated version (i.e. the bottomless party) seemed like directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle) weren't paying much attention to directing as much as they were paying attention to scoping out the unnecessary. Putting the moments added in the unrated version as deleted scenes in the special features of the DVD would've been sufficient.

This unrated version features extended scenes that mostly consist of unnecessary close-ups of graphic nudity (both pleasant and unpleasant images) and genital jokes that seem unpolished, flat, and once again unnecessary. I regret watching the unrated version because it made me feel terribly disappointed, although it did show that it was well-edited for the silver screen. Scenes are prolonged in lenth and end up weighing down the jokes rather than making them funnier.

I say, by all means, rent Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (one of the year's funniest films) if you haven't seen it yet and watch the theatrical version first. The chemistry between John Cho and Kal Penn is still there, and Neil Patrick Harris reprises his role as NPH. A new over-the-top character played by Rob Corddry is priceless. Its politically incorrect, hard-to-swallow jokes are timed perfectly and are pretty damn funny. And let's not forget the George W. Bush scene. The theatrical version rarely blows stale smoke. However, the unrated version is sloppy, overloaded with repugnant and unessential nudity, and completely unneeded. Trust me. I know it is tempting because of it being unrated and all, but it truly makes the movie much better if you skip the unrated version entirely.

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay Theatrical Version 4.5/5 stars

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay Unrated Version 1.5/5 stars