James Toback’s “Harvard Man” is a brave movie, but not in the way you’d expect.

Sure, it features mind-blowing scenes of LSD trips, not to mention eye-opening sex interludes. But what’s brave is its desire to merge storytelling and philosophizing. The attempt is courageous, even if the result is wildly uneven.

Ultimately, the movie is an exquisite shambles. But something must be said for a drugs-and-sex opus that’s so aware of its Ivy League pedigree that it boasts a Bach musical score and mentions German existential philosopher Martin Heidegger in its advertising campaign. Additional pedigree trivia: Producer Michael Mailer is the son of author Norman Mailer.

Director/screenwriter Toback’s autobiographical film uses the sad odyssey of Alan Jensen to pose questions of an individual’s fate in the hands of chance and other uncontrollable entities.

Alan (Adrian Grenier) is a Midwestern youth who’s a point guard on Harvard’s basketball team. He’s also a sexual athlete and a fan of hallucinatory substances. His busy life includes two strong women: a cheerleader and his philosophy professor. Predatory Holy Cross cheerleader Cindy Bandolini (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is the daughter of an organized crime chief. Her personal agenda remains the top priority in all of her actions. If there really is honor among thieves, Cindy isn’t aware of it.Professor Chesney Cort (Joey Lauren Adams) carefully checks her feelings into tidy categories but is able to supply some semblance of emotional support.

Alan’s world starts to crumble when his parents lose their home to a tornado and he seeks a $100,000 loan for their benefit. His parents, incidentally, barely appreciate his willingness to help. This leads to underworld loans and the throwing of a basketball game, all to the tune of mind-altering drugs.

Toback’s direction is most imaginative in the trippy LSD episodes. The film’s attitude in these segments is cautionary yet fully aware of the drug’s appeal. Despite the movie’s contemporary setting, the director’s split-screen techniques are reminiscent of the 1960s, when the filmmaker was himself a Harvard student.

Even in Alan’s wildest moments, Grenier still seems like a nice young man. The 26-year-old actor was 24 when “Harvard Man” was filmed. At this point, he has a sympathetic but less-than-riveting screen presence.

Gellar effectively recycles her wicked-goddess mode from “Cruel Intentions,” and Adams is convincing as a woman who knows her way around both lecture hall and bedroom.

However, Eric Stoltz and Rebecca Gayheart deliver the film’s best performances as the chief players in an FBI sting operation. Like all of the other characters, they have their own agendas _ only more so.

You’ll wind up wishing that the entire movie carried the enjoyable jolt provided by Stoltz and Gayheart.