Have a Good Trip Parent Guide

Psychedelic drugs have had a long impact on our culture - from musical acts like Jefferson Airplane and The Beatles to authors like Aldous Huxley and Hunter S. Thompson, drug use has been behind some huge artistic achievements. But what are these substances like on a personal level? Have a Good Trip sets out to explore those experiences through interviews with celebrities and scientists.

Before you get all nervous about this being an ad for hallucinogens, the documentary is pretty clear that LSD isn’t for everyone: several of the people they interview have had deeply unpleasant experiences, and aren’t shy about describing exactly how things went wrong for them. Even for people who fully expected to enjoy their trip, things had a tendency to spiral off in strange directions…

Parents are not going to be happy with a movie that focuses on drugs, but the one consolation here is the harm mitigation message: don’t drive high, don’t trip with people you don’t like, and keep an eye on your clothes. The message more than anything seems to be that there are some ways that are significantly better than others to take drugs, and that has led to positive experiences for some people.

But, not unlike ‘shrooms, this documentary probably isn’t for everyone. If you find drug use upsetting, obviously this may not be a fantastic choice. Moreover, the frequent use of profanity makes this unsuitable for many audiences. It is, however, remarkably free of most other content concerns. While still pretty “adult” for a documentary, Have a Nice Trip seems to be trying to maintain some moderation in its content, all things considered.

I don’t think this is the kind of film likely to encourage anyone to take drugs who wasn’t already interested in doing so. Hearing a certain hallucinogen described as “an express ticket to the primordial ooze” ought to be a good warning. More importantly, Have a Nice Trip points out some of the legitimate medical research that’s being done on these drugs and the potential benefits they have in treating a variety of conditions. If nothing else, this is an interesting documentary to watch just to hear some absolutely insane stories from public figures but parents looking for a clear “just say no” message are not going to want any of their family members to go on the trip this offbeat documentary takes.