Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

R

Released Aug 5, 2011

1 hr. 30 min.

Documentary

List

72%

60 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Directors Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood present footage culled from a road trip to the 1964 New York World's Fair, which author Ken Kesey and the Merry Band of Pranksters made while on drugs.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Jun 01

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Apple TV

Watch Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place with a subscription on Prime Video, rent on Fandango at Home, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

Magic Trip is overall unenlightening, though there's an inherent novelty and joy in seeing the unearthed footage of Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters.

Read Critics Reviews

delysid d

These people think they are a whole lot more interesting than they actually are

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/01/17

Full Review

Audience Member

http://filmreviewsnsuch.blogspot.com/2016/01/magic-trip.html

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

El aclamado documentalista Alex Gibney nos describe cómo fue el viaje a través de los Estados Unidos en los años 60 del escritor Ken Kesey ("One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest") y de su grupo de "bromistas" en un bus psicodélico lleno de LSD y un espíritu entre beatnik y hippie. Su usted sabe algo sobre la contracultura de los años 60 y sobre Kesey, este documental no le aportará nada nuevo. Para los iniciados será un viaje revelador.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Far out, man. A great honest look at Kesey, his pranksters, their road across the US and influencing the mainstream and counter-cultures.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ken Kesey was a far better human than Leary ever was.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

fun and educational social history

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Alex Gibney

Director

Alison Ellwood

Director

Stanley Tucci

Narrator

Alex Gibney

Writer

Alison Ellwood

Writer

Will Clarke

Producer

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

98%

73%

Whose Streets?

TRAILER

for Whose Streets?

95%

80%

Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!

85%

82%

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

80%

77%

Chicago 10

82%

68%

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Critics Consensus: Rise of the Planet of the Apes is Certified Fresh

View more photos

Empire Magazine

Rated: 3/5

Nov 25, 2011

Full Review

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Gives us a vivid feel for the bedhopping, acid-dropping subculture, if a little less insight than you'd hope...

Rated: 3/5

Nov 19, 2011

Full Review

Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

The trip is supposed to be the legendary precursor to the Swinging Sixties but ends up seeming merely fun for a group of people who have never quite grown up.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 19, 2011

Full Review

Jamie Garwood

CineVue

Gibney's latest stands up as a vital document of the counter-culture movements within 1960s America.

Dec 5, 2018

Full Review

Yasmin Shehab

Cairo360

Jan 30, 2018

Full Review

Sean Burns

Philadelphia Weekly

In case you haven't had your fill of wheezy boomer nostalgia, here we go again.

May 3, 2015

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Directors Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood present footage culled from a road trip to the 1964 New York World's Fair, which author Ken Kesey and the Merry Band of Pranksters made while on drugs.

Director: Alex Gibney, Alison Ellwood
Executive Producer: David McKillop, Molly Thompson, Robert Belau, David Kowitz, Gareth Wiley
Screenwriter: Alex Gibney, Alison Ellwood
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Magnolia Pictures
Rating: R (Some Nudity|Language|Drug Content)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 5, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 4, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $153.9K

Most Popular at Home Now