VOD Spotlight: John Cho, Kal Penn and “NPH” make for “A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas”

Put the kiddies to bed and sit down to a movie that skewers one of our most cherished holidays in every way possible.

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas is set six years after the title pair’s escape from Guantanamo Bay. The buds have gone their separate ways —  Harold (John Cho) has moved on to marriage and success in a Wall Street firm while Kumar (Kal Penn) is nearly friendless and just getting by in their old apartment. When a package arrives for Harold at his old address, Kumar decides to deliver it in person, setting the stage for a Kumar-style mishap and yet another quest for the pair.

To assist in mirroring the distance between the pair, Cho and Penn did not even work together during the first two weeks of filming. “By the time John and I finally did our first scene, it was like a real reunion,” Penn says. “When they first see each other at Harold’s, the undercurrent is they want to reconnect, so actually being apart a while added to it.”

Adding his own touch to the reunion is Neil Patrick Harris, mostly called NPH in the film. “NPH brings a sense of magic to our movies,” Cho says. “He’s the second act wizard, thereby making any situation plausible in the Harold & Kumar universe. That’s an amazing thing that a character and the actor playing him can bring.”

“Whenever Neil comes to town it’s definitely one of the highlights of the shoot,” Penn adds. “Neil is always down for whatever they throw at him. And he can improvise some foul, hysterical bits. He’s hilarious.”

As fans of Harris’ performance at the 2010 Oscars know, he’s also multitalented, donning a red tux in the film for a Busby Berkeley-style holiday musical, filmed at the Detroit Opera House. “I’m playing an extreme version of myself, which is a tricky dynamic,” Harris says. “You see my character as a raconteur — very all-American, happy-go-lucky — then in the next scene he’s walking on the dark side. That’s fun to play.”

“A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas” is available starting Feb. 7 on Video On Demand. Check your cable system for availability.

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© 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.