GOIN' FURTHER ON DOWN THE ROAD

By Mitch Myers

Are we there yet? No, not as far as Woody Harrelson's concerned. Inspired by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' classic cross-country trek toward higher consciousness, Ron Mann's documentary Go Further follows actor/activist Harrelson and his cronies on a 2001 bus and bike tour from Seattle to Los Angeles.

While Kesey's sojourn was a reflection of in-your-face '60s radicalism, Harrelson's organic trip is strictly nonconfrontational. As a result, Go Further, released theatrically by Abramorama in October, is a surprisingly subtle doc that puts its gentle emphasis on important lifestyle changes, one person at a time. And rather than dwelling on Harrelson as the major agent of change, Mann finds an unlikely hero in production assistant Steve Clark, whose humorous transformation from junk-food junkie to raw-food disciple is enlightening and one that many of us can relate to.

Harrelson's levelheaded environmental lectures and impromptu yoga lessons are comically offset by Clark's rabid lifestyle conversion. There are also interviews with a tree-friendly paper manufacturer, an organic farmer, a hippie beekeeper and an environmental activist who incorporates humor into his civil disobedience and teaches others how to protest in the modern world.

Mann's amiable depiction of these worthwhile causes is interspersed with strong musical performances by eco-conscious artists like Michael Franti, Bob Weir, String Cheese Incident, Dave Matthews and Medeski, Martin & Wood. The bus, which runs on bio-diesel hemp oil, even stops for a short visit with Kesey, providing some of the last film footage of the Merry Prankster before his passing.

Mann, who last directed the pro-pot doc Grass (narrated by Harrelson), calls Go Further "an Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test on Tofu." And so it is.

For more information go to http://www.gofurtherthemovie.com/