The Tripper

I had a friend recommend this movie to me – he’s even more of a movie geek than I am I believe, which is hard for me to admit, but since he actually watches a lot more “literary” films than I do, I’ll let him have the title for now. (Just kidding Matt.) The Tripper was just plain old fun – a goofball slash fest that had what I would think to be an Academy Award winning scene from Courtney Cox. What more could you ask for?

In The Tripper, a group of nouveau hippies hit the road to attend a music festival deep in the redwood forest. There’s Sam, the sweet girl who just got out of a bad relationship, Ivan, the druggie that might be her new boyfriend, and the rest of the drug addled crew as slasher fodder. They are ready to party, but the problem is there’s a guy out there with an affinity for Ronald Regan masks and sharp implements. He’s not happy that there are hippies in his woods. Not happy at all. Something to do with his childhood and a group of hippies chained to a tree. So he makes with the slash-slash and the chop-chop and the string the naked hippie guy up in a tree while the sheriff tries to shut down the love-in, the music producer tries to take off with the cash, and the locals stand by and laugh.

This movie, to me, sounded funnier than it actually was, but hey, I had pretty high expectations. I can’t help but hold up every “horror-comedy” up to Shaun of the Dead and compare them. There were real moments that were funny, but others felt forced. I love James King, what a beautiful woman, and hey I’m happy to see Lukas Haas and Balthazar Getty again, but really the true scene-stealer was Courtney Cox Arquette’s cameo. That was worth the rental right there. Overall, it’s a bit choppy (ha-ha) and almost too into the agenda, but hey, that cameo, man…

I’d say rent this is you like movies that poke fun at Republicans, or the idea of hippies at a music fest being sliced and diced by a guy in a Ronald Regan mask sounds funny to you. It is a laugh, if not heavy handed on the poking fun at times (hey what can I say, my parents are Republicans…I felt a little guilty laughing.)

Rating: 3 ½ Purrs for the aptly named dogs and James King (love her), plus the “but I’m a Republican” joke – ha ha