Psych Out (1968)

A deaf runaway (Susan Strasberg) travels to San Francisco in search of her brother (Bruce Dern). It's 1968 and the Haight Ashbury scene is in full flower children bloom as hippies and psychedelic drugs take over. Directed by Richard Rush (THE STUNT MAN), this isn't a serious exploration of the counterculture era but rather an exploitation of it. And as usual, Hollywood gets it wrong. I should know as I lived in San Francisco during the time this movie takes place. The dialogue is often unintentionally funny and the "hippies" here don't resemble any of the non conformist drop outs I knew. Today, much of it is kitsch like a pony tailed Jack Nicholson playing in an acid band or Strasberg's STP "trip" as flames chase her around the streets of San Francisco. But as an artifact, however compromised, of the era, it has its moments. The movie was produced by Dick Clark so there's a strong anti-drug message. The cinematography by Laszlo Kovacs is quite good. With Dean Stockwell, Adam Roarke, Garry Marshall, Ken Scott, Henry Jaglom and as themselves, the Strawberry Alarm Clock.