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.

Once again, like many films of the same time, The Trip is often misunderstood for a campy, cheap exploitation of a once vibrant time 'too often reduced to nostalgic simplicities.' The Plot goes as follows: Peter Fonda plays a film director that is bummed out by his wife (Susan Strasberg) and pending divorce. So to cool out, he takes LSD from a psychologist-type who is making records of 'controlled' LSD experiments (played by Bruce Dern). The film seems to hold it together during the first 30 minutes or so, but loses it's place when the weird acid trips happen (note the creepy scene where Fonda dies and goes to some kind of hell inhabited by horsemen, knights, and dwarfs). Overall, this is an entertaining little time capsule filled with twists and old film techniques. But I still cannot stress enough the arrogance of a man who tries to capture an LSD trip on camera for the silver screen. Even though the film did do moderately well at the box-office (for 1967, that is), mind expansion enthusiasts, like myself, might find the LSD depictions to be a bit funny at times, and the dialogue to be typical for a film of its kind. But for all personal shortcomings, I recommend this film because it is a true original.

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!

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!

I originally became interested in finding this film due to my introduction and interest in the soundtrack. The music is performed by the late 60's self-proclaimed "American Music Band" known most often as THE ELECTRIC FLAG... A life-long fan of the somewhat psychadelic (as heard in THE TRIP), but more over horn/blues/rock band, the recording of THE TRIP that I first heard on a roadtrip to California (how fitting) is what sparked my search for a copy of THE TRIP.

I must say that the backwards line of hearing the music first and THEN seeing the film, caused me to have vague (but passionate!) expectations of what would be contained in the film. Yes, a "typical" portrayal of the late 60's acid/drug scene some might say, but I beg to differ. The film is about a man (Peter Fonda) who is distrought with life and looks for an answer through acid. The trippy, psychadelic scenes to follow make for a colorful kaleidescope of imagery and that, if nothing else, is a treat for the eyes! But later - dark, bleak scenes of medieval death contrast with a looming carnival funhouse feel. Through ecstatic highs and eerie lows, Fonda manages to come out of the trip with a new perspective - what he had hoped

for in the first place. But here is where one may say there really was no plot and in the end there was no lesson either. But, once again, I beg to differ. I enjoy delving deep into what seems to be merely innocent and aesthetic on the outside, and searching for what seems hidden amongst clowns on the inside. In the end, I got more than one message from the film, but I will let you, the viewer, decide for yourself what (if anything) you got from it. There, of course, is no wrong answer.

Having never (unfortunately) gotten the chance to live during that era, my curiosity is peaked and sometimes calmed by exposing myself to all that surrounded or grew from that era - be it music, poetry, film, literature or what have you. And though I can't proclaim to tell you that you will like or dislike the film, I can really only recommend for you to check it out. Because it is entertaining. Because it is superb filming. Because it is an early music video. Because it has a great American soundtrack. Because it is history. Because it it another time we can now only remember. Because it is one man's tribute to the often misunderstood era of peace, drugs, and a more innocent way of life. Because it is America... and because it made me come away with a new thought, and new ideas in my head, and if thats not something, I don't know what is. Thanks for reading.