Review of Psych-Out

Introduction

The trailer of Psych-Out is just brilliant! It`s full of crazy psychedelia, with a young Jack Nicholson looking cool, young and handsome as the long haired guitarist in band `Mumblin` Jim` and colour visuals that`ll give your tubes a damn good workout! It`s also got a hint of the music on offer - from The Strawberry Alarm Clock (cool!) and The Seeds (Cooler!). And then it`s got some Romero-like zombies too, representing a bad trip - and some crazy chicks too. In fact the whole damn trailer is a real treat. 2 minutes of psychedelic nostalgic bliss for those that were there and for those that weren`t but wished they had been. And that`s just the trailer! What about the movie proper? Well, you`ve got a young Jack Nicholson looking cool and handsome …etc, Only this time it`s stretched over 90 minutes (I know because I kept looking at my watch) - which sadly was about 70 minutes too long. Highlights of the movie are the brief musical interludes; the two real bands are great (The Strawberry Alarm Clock, with future Lynyrd Skynrd guitarist Ed King at the helm, sadly overshadowed by more successful, but far drearier acts like The Jefferson Airplane in real life - and The Seeds pouring out their uniquely psychedlic version of Garage Punk) but `Mumblin` Jim`, with Nicholson on lead guitar, are calculated, clumsy and comical. Poor old Jack didn`t even move his left hand whilst playing the transparent lift of `Purple Haze` …where was the Director?!
This movie was Produced by cheesy DJ of the `50`s and media personality and impresario Dick Clark, clearly to cash in on `the scene`. It`s essentially a moral tale about drugs, hippy philosophy and the dangerous results of too much freedom.
It kicks off with deaf girl (never really got the significance of this twist) Jenny Davis (Susan Strasberg) arriving at the corner of San Francisco`s Haight/Ashbury in the middle of the 1967 `Summer of Love`. She`s searching for her missing runaway brother, Steve (Bruce Dern). She heads straight into a groovy café and meets Stoney (Jack Nicholson). They kind of hook up and shack up at the rambling abode of the Pony-tailed Stoney, also populated by many other free-thinking , drug taking radicals.

The movie drifts onwards with various attempts to locate Jenny`s brother who has become known as `The Seeker`. When they finally meet, we discover that he`s a drug addled paranoid and the movie`s apocalyptic ending includes his untimely demise (sorry for the spoiler - but it`s not a moving moment). On the way to this conclusion we see fights, love-ins, and a whole lot of hippy-philosophy which the makers clearly negate with their choice of conclusion. In a kinder frame of mind I guess it is a wonderful historic curio, part-Monkees and part Tomothy Leary and on that basis, for some it will be a worthy release.

Video

Actually very nicely mastered. Very few noticeable flaws, and a very rich print expertly converted. Damn colourful too!

Audio

A good and serviceable soundtrack here, presented in it`s original mono which is a little disappointing as there are some great musical moments amongst the not-so great. (Note to self: Track down that The Strawberry Alarm Clock LP. Slagged off critically at the time, they sound as fresh as daisies today.)

Features

Unlike the US R1 Dual-disc release with `The Trip`, which is positively dripping with extras, this has very little. You get the Trailer and a choice of chapters and languages.

Conclusion

Viewers may feel that seeing a young pony-tailed Jack Nicholson as a cool hippy, playing along to bad `Vanilla Fudge` renditions of Hendrix parodies or some great on-screen performances from The Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Seeds are worth the price of admission alone. And they may be right. For the rest of you, there`s plenty of crazy psychedelic footage and pseudo-philosophical thinking. There`s also a stark warning for any drug taking loved ones if you think that might be useful. But if this list of offerings leaves you cold then there`s frankly little else to recommend it.