Go Further

It ain't easy being green, but in this enjoyably liberating documentary, former Cheers star Woody Harrelson proves it's a lot of fun and deeply good for the soul. As one of the world's leading eco-actor-vists and a physically-fit role model for simple organic living, the Oscar-nominee spreads the whole-earth environmental awareness gospel in expert counterculture chronicler Ron Mann's (Grass, Comic Book Confidential) Go Further, which follows Harrelson and a group of likeminded travelers as they embark on a 1,300-mile bike-and-bio-fueled bus tour from Seattle to Santa Barbara. Harrelson's laidback style (despite the fact he no longer smokes pot) and the film's latter-day hippie vibe pepper this rambling adventure, which follows in the best road-trip tradition, visiting college campuses, small-town communities, and even campsites (and even transforms travel companion Steve Clark--a goofy Will & Grace gopher--from junk-food junkie to health-food convert by journey's end). While it won't necessarily change the hearts and minds of dedicated couch potatoes, the film does honor the spirit of author and 1960s counterculture icon Ken Kesey (whose legendary "Further" bus inspired this excursion), while serving up musical interludes by the likes of Natalie Merchant, Bob Weir, Anthony Kiedis, and The String Cheese Incident. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include 19 minutes of additional performances and deleted scenes, a 17-minute “Arts & Minds” profile of filmmaker Ron Mann, an interview with Dave Matthews (9 min.), a seven-minute Berkley Biotech Discussion segment, “Thoughts from Within”--a poem by Woody Harrelson (4 min.), an excerpt from “WORMANIA!”--an educational video on composting with worms (4 min.), and a pullout resource guide with a recipe from raw food chef Renee Loux Underkoffler. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a solid doc.] (J. Shannon)