Timothy Leary's Last Trip

For those of you who remember the '60s as a blur, this video won't necessarily clear the haze, but it's a trip to listen to the ramblings of psychedelic drug gurus Leary, Ken Kesey and all the members of the Merry Pranksters as they joined forces in the '60s to "Tune in, turn on, and drop out" (in hindsight--now that we've all grown up and become the dreaded establishment--rather poor advice). Told in flashbacks, using archival footage and totally uninteresting "home" movies, the program follows Leary as a Harvard professor, with his own take on "high-er" education; Kesey, volunteer acid "researcher" and author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; and the Merry Pranksters, a group of "hanger-ons" who drive a tie-dyed school bus named "Further," as they document the far out journey of the original acid heads. Sadly, in 1996 Leary succumbs to cancer and Kesey and Leary say their good-byes via the internet as the world sees the much publicized video conference between these two peaceful warriors of the cultural revolution. Recommended, with some reservations. Aud: C, P. (N. Plympton)