Magic Trip [Blu-ray]

As for the first review above, I won't take issue with the reviewer, that's his perspective. I have a different view. Maybe going in with certain expectations would make one wish for more and I can imagine this movie being different. But I certainly don't think "Keysey deserves better". Considering his wife and son were instrumental in the making of it, I don't see how someone could take this film as a disservice to him or the Pranksters.

If you're not familiar with Kesey, this review might not be for you. Go read up a little or talk to an old hippy friend. If you are and find that era interesting, take a peek.

In some ways, this movie mirrors Electric Koolaid Acid Test. There's a little before the trip. A little about the Acid Tests after, and a nice short post script about his life afterward in Oregon. It's not just about the bus trip, but that is the central focus of the movie. It's a documentary, but not in the sense that anyone familiar with the story will learn much new, rather, it's a long awaited peek into the actual event, told through the original footage and recordings taken on the trip along with some short recreations and narratives.
Most of the world has heard the story, many have read it, but most of this footage has rarely been seen. It puts a face on the characters, fills in some blanks not covered by the book, (while leaving much out) and is a truly nice, humble homage to one of the true psychedelic pioneers.
How many people toured the country on LSD, met with greats like Alpert, Leary, Ginsberg, while Dean Moriarty (actually Neal Cassidy in real life) is driving a LSD and drug fueled bus filled with proto-hippies across the US to see the Worlds Fair in NYC in 1964?
Only one man could have pulled it off, because only one did. And along with a group of freaky, non-conformist artists and heads, helped spark a flame.
If you can scrape up 10 bux and a few like minded friends, maybe a good beer or two, take a look.
It's worthy of your time and deserves two thumbs up.

I always wanted to put faces and personalities to the names in the Electric Koolaid Acid Test, and this film does it wonderfully. And hearing Cassady's patter live was priceless. But what really surprised me is how crew-cut all the Merry Pranksters were! Take away quote from Kesey: "I've always been a fairly reliable straight-up the middle road citizen who just happens to be an acid head." Loved it!

You're either on the bus or off the bus. If you read and enjoyed the book by Tom Wolfe,"The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test", you will want to see this. It's like reading "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and then watching actual footage of Hunter Thompson partying with his Somoan attorney. This is the America I was born into, in living color, as it was about to change from Wally and the Beaver to Jimi Hendrix and Easy Rider. This is Ground Zero for the flower-power era. Kesey and his Merry Pranksters look surprisingly clean-cut for road-tripping acid heads. They weren't really Hippies; Hippies hadn't been invented yet. On one level, their adventures are ludicrous and anti-climactic...as the big trip is launched, the bus runs out of gas before they even make it off the property. They splash around in the water, they blow on instruments they can't really play, they try to make a movie with equipment they can barely operate.They decide to take acid while waiting for a tow-truck! Indeed,if you've never experienced psychedelic drugs, you'll wonder what all the fuss is about. If you HAVE tripped, you'll appreciate the wonder and evangelical zeal that Kesey felt, and witness America's mind being blown for the very first time. He looks wholesome and benign as he urges and encourages his friends to penetrate the farthest reaches of inner space. Sceptics will scoff, but Kesey was onto something...the possibility of living a self-defined life. Kesey actually did it. That is not a small achievement.There IS an element of half-assedness here. There is also the shining light of a holy fool.