SYNOPSIS:

In 1989, a kid too smart for his own good named Joaquin Chandler is going through an identity crisis while he hangs around misfits in his stuffy Connecticut town. During this existential crisis, Joaquin’s family is in the middle of falling apart. Then at a local concert, Joaquin meets Vanessa and it’s love at first sight for Joaquin. She tells him that she is going to follow the Grateful Dead across the country so he decides to follow her. Problems arise both internally and externally but Joaquin is able to set forth on his journey with the help of his eccentric friends Topher and Mike. There are obstacles in the road including a violent dispute that leaves the group without a vehicle and sends Mike home. Undaunted, Joaquin and Topher make their way to Grateful Dead concerts where Joaquin finally finds Vanessa after a series of odd setbacks. She tempts him to do hard drugs but Joaquin declines and then she breaks his heart. As if that weren’t bad enough, Joaquin finds that Topher has been seduced by a group of roaming lost souls called “The Family”. In a moment of clarity, Joaquin realizes that he was running away from his problems and must go home or become a lost soul. He tries to get Topher to leave but he won’t so Joaquin is forced to go home where he takes more steps to adulthood.

THE LONG STRANGE TRIP