The Trip

The Trip (1967)

Runtime: 85 minutes

Directed by: Roger Corman

Starring: Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper, Susan Strasberg, Salli Sachese

From: AIP 

This film was a trip, indeed. Last night, Turner Classic Movies played this Roger Corman movie; throughout the month of January, every Friday night is devoted to the late director/producing legend. I hadn’t seen this but knowing that some key figures (Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Jack Nicholson, who believe it or not wrote The Trip while not appearing in the movie as an actor) later went on to make Easy Rider greatly intrigued.

Fonda is a director who is experiencing the disintegration of his marriage; that naturally is a bummer, man. Thankfully for him, he knows such cool cats as Hopper and a fully-bearded Bruce Dern. The latter introduces him to acid, and the rest of the film is his first acid trip. As Dern’s a great friend, he coaches him on what to expect during his initial trip and stays around during the experience. Of course, there is more than one freak-out but Dern offers comfort while he’s around.

Through the usage of appropriate music, colors, camera effects, old sets sometimes redecorated in bizarre fashion, filming in locations that already had psychedelic décor and other tricks that presumably weren’t expensive (especially considering the director/producer), those trips were a delight. First, there’s the expected kaleidoscope effects; then, weird, surreal imagery appears off-and-on. Now, I’ve never tried LSD; however, Nicholson and Corman did! The presumption is that the film is not unauthentic.

As an aside, Dern will turn 90 in like 8 weeks; I hope he lives for many years to come but you never know at his age. While he’s still alive, I’m happy to acknowledge that it’s always a treat watching him act in everything from Nebraska and The Driver to Silent Running and The ‘Burbs.

A film devoted only to an LSD experience is unique even now; I was happy to have gone on this journey to the swingin’ 60’s and view the visuals, groovy music, and the Los Angeles of the era. I was also happy to see some other familiar faces, such as Luana Anders and Dick Miller, the latter wearing a funny purple & black ensemble as a bartender.