BrianSez's Review

Summary - OK 2.5

Stanley Tucci narrates this look at the famous Ken Keasey and the Merry Pranksters trip across the US. The trip itself was exactly that — a long strange trip. Looking at it from the outside, I don’t know whether to label it as something meaningful and defining for the 60’s, or just a bunch of kids partying and having a good time. You be the judge. It sure was fascinating to watch though. There was a bit more than the trip itself, as some of the other events of the times are discussed, most notably the acid tests in the SF bay area. In the end, I felt a bit exhausted – how could they have dropped so much acid? And I completely understood why some of them, including Keasey himself, were ready to move on. As for the movie, it was a bit meandering and even boring at times — probably the same thing that would happen if I were sitting and watching people on acid in real-life.

Acting - OK 2.5

Ok – so this is purely a judgement call; but I come down on the side of folks who thinks these are just a bunch of partying kids. Timothy Leary’s crew did all the thinking. Keasey’s crew just wandered.

Film - Barely OK 2.0

Apparently the footage took years to get in to shape; with an audio track that got out of sync. with the visual. They cleaned it up, but it still came across as a bunch of home movies. Oh wait, they were all tripping when they filmed. That explains it.

Edge - Risqué 2.0

Reality - Natural 1.0

Now this is a rating dilemma to be sure. This all actually happened, so I guess a ‘Natural’ rating is correct. However, what was going on in Keasey and crew’s minds, was totally supernatural.

1 Comment

• Wick Jan 8, 2012 2:39AM

  Regarding BrianSez’s Review
  The mind’s eye perspective doesn’t change reality, so your 1.0 rFactor sounds correct.

• Feed
• Movies
• ViewLists
• NewOnDemand