The Trip

Paul Groves (Peter Fonda), a television commercial director, is in the midst of a personality crisis. His wife Sally (Susan Strasberg) has left him and he seeks the help of his friend John (Bruce Dern), a self-styled guru who's an advocate of LSD.

The film was directed by Corman, written by Jack Nicholson, starring Bruce Dern with a beard, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. How can that be bad? The biggest problem is that the plot is relatively weak and relies heavily on some wild kaleidoscopic visuals. That may not be a problem -- I mean, there are still great actors and a dwarf -- but it is a noticeable flaw.

How can you not like this film? The cast is incredible, but most Roger Corman films have great casting as we all know. Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, Salle Sachse, Dennis Hopper, Susan Strasberg, Dick Miller (Of course), Luana Anders, Peter Bogdanovich and written by Jack Nicholson!! Can you imagine what was going on during the filming of this? Wonderful hippie special effects as Fonda goes on his "Trip". And I truly enjoyed the soundtrack. Especially the theme song. If anyone knows how I can get a copy of the soundtrack, let me know. This film is a real curio and it reminds me of the old days when a bunch of young guys with very little money just went out and made a film. I don't think this film is endorsing LSD, but all that type of stuff was pretty new back then and this was just a film that was taking a chance. All those hippie type of movies are fun to watch and this one is certainly interesting!

Great cast, although Fonda wasn't cool yet (acting-wise) about LSD and "drugs & hippies & all that stuff", but Hopper is interesting and this trippy flicks rolls down the valley without too much effort (penned by Jack Nicholson). Nothing wrong with this one a budget wouldn't have cured in '67. Along the same lines as the WILD ANGELS (biker flick) "exploitation film" (Corman), but not insulting, or even pandering, but more trying to grab on without really reaching (film-wise), and a joy to see nowadays (and it's not pro-drugs or anything), even for the time.

Best performance = Dennis Hopper. Don['t sell it short if you were born before Chuck Berry and Elvis started Rock 'N Roll or you will wonder!

Roger Corman, king of b-grade Science fiction, horror, juvenile delinquent and biker movies, tunes in, turns on, and helps create a classic piece of psychedelia. Scripted by Jack Nicholson, and co-starring his future 'Easy Rider' collaborators Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, as well as the always great Bruce Dern ('The Wild Angels', 'Bloody Mama', 'Silent Running'), the late Susan Strasberg (with Dern and Nicholson in 'Psych-Out' the following year - another psych classic), Corman regular Dick Miller ('A Bucket Of Blood',etc.), Luana Anders (Coppola and Corman's 'Dementia 13'), and even blink and you'll miss them cameos from Peter Bogdanovich and cosmic cowboy Gram Parsons.

Fonda plays a disillusioned director of TV commercials who decides to drop acid for the first time in the hope of finding some meaning in his life. Dern plays his guide. Fonda's trip includes stroboscopic lights, quasi-medieval scenes including dwarves and hooded horsemen, naked go-go dancers, fast cuts, and his own funeral. Apple juice and a visit to the laundromat also play quite significant roles. This is a must see for anyone interested in 60s pop culture, and is still one of the most entertaining psych movies. Take 'The Trip' or you'll regret it forever!

To be honest, I thought I would grow quickly bored with this movie since I heard that all it was is a bunch of cool psychedelic effects and not much else. Well, I actually found it interesting. After an opening five minutes with some bad acting I rolled my eyes but the movie got better....and Peter Fonda's performance got better. Fonda plays Paul, a TV commercial director who goes on his first LSD trip. He thinks he might learn something from it and does. You start to lose track of what reality is just like Paul does. Dennis Hopper has some interesting scenes and Bruce Dern is good as well. Having never touched acid, I can't tell you how realistic the effects are but found them interesting to watch. In order to do research, director Roger Corman took LSD and had a pleasant experience. Bruce Dern however has never taken it so found his role as someone who was kind of an expert on the matter, a challenging acting job. However, Jack Nicolson wrote the script and I expect he did plenty of research...he-he. Surprisingly, a pretty cool movie, dude!