Ever one to push the proverbial envelope, Timothy Leary reacted to the news of his impending death by prostate cancer by being "thrilled." In his 1997 book, Designs for Dying, Leary positively bubbles with enthusiasm: "Dying," he writes, "is the most fascinating experience in life."

Paul Davids's eulogistic documentary never surrenders itself to sentimentality. Instead, the film, produced in 1995 after Leary's condition became known, offers a snappy, soundtrack-heavy overview of Leary's trip from Harvard professor to LSD prophet to convict to FBI fugitive to talk-circuiteer to cyberguru to headless corpse . . .

Alas, signs of hasty compilation are all too evident; the madly inventive Leary deserved better. There are a few nifty touches: Leary pal Richard Albert tells of his first LSD experience in a montage of footage shot in 1965 and 1995, the two Alberts finishing off each other's sentences like a married couple. As for the verity of the decapitation footage? Well, controversy follows Leary to the grave. Turn on, tune in, drop out, and always get the last laugh. At the Kendall Square.