Search - Serial on DVD

From the land of fruits and nuts..........

tmp | Solar System, MA USA | 06/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great movie about life in Marin county in the late seventies. Martin Mull just wants to lead a normal, middle-class life. His wife (Tuesday Weld) and friends won't let him. They try to drag him into every fad and fashion of the 70's and early 80's, from drugs and free sex to wacky "therapists" and cults. Very funny and prescient movie, with very good performances, and great lines- especially from the supporting cast."

Great spoof of new age awareness!

Jon W. Backstrom | Indianola, IA | 05/18/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Martin Mull stars in this comedy about upper-middle class life in Marin County, north of San Francisco. The movie is a good adaptation of the book by the same name and pokes fun at the "mellow speak" and new age fads of the late 70's. Contains lots of funny dialog you'll be quoting back to your friends, just like a Monty Python skit."

An obscure movie everyone should see

Robert Dumas | Chicago, Illinois, USA | 06/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's about life in Marin County, California in the late 1970s. All the hippies have grown up and are so desperately trying to convince themselves that they're still hip that they've become a horrible parody of themselves, living in a world of pop psychobabble, open marriages and narcissism. In the center of all of this is Harvey Holroyd (Martin Mull) and his wife Kate (Tuesday Weld). Harvey is the sane man in an insane world, normal by every standard, but Kate is caught up in all the lunacy and keeps trying to drag him into the bizarro-world.

Don't let the movie's late-70's look fool you; it is absolutely *hysterical*. Look for Tommy Smothers as a "priest" (though in what church, I've no idea) who thinks everything is beautiful and Christopher Lee as a hard-ass businessman during the week who has a secret about what he does on weekends. There are so many plot twists, you'll never keep up with them all, but the whole movie is a laugh riot from start to finish. Be aware; this is a hard movie to find, but if you have an opportunity to get it, do not pass it up.

I suppose it's even funnier for me because my own parents were living out in San Francisco in the early 1970s and they say the film depicts almost exactly how people out there actually were. I've a hard time seeing my dad (who'd just gotten out of the Marines) and my mom (a strict Catholic and a Navy nurse) living in such a mad place."

Yet another 5-star film with a 1-star remastering. Boo! Hiss

D. Hartley | Seattle, WA USA | 07/28/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Methinks the previous reviewers did not actually SCREEN Paramount's DVD reissue of "Serial"? Otherwise, I don't think they would actually be THANKING the studio for releasing this bootleg quality abomination.

Don't get me wrong-I love this film; it's a precursor to Michael Tolkin's 1994 satire, "The New Age", a similarly savage send up of California trendies (another great film still M.I.A. on DVD, BTW). But... as for the disc quality?

Gosh, where shall I start?

1. OK, fine-"1:78 wide screen", but DEFINITELY not anamorphic.
2. Horribly tattered print; no better than my studio released VHS copy.
3. Muffled audio; turning it up and/or trying to adjust EQ doesn't help.

I wasn't expecting the Criterion treatment, but come on-this film has enough of a cult following to warrant a little more respect to those who are eager to plunk down their hard-earned cash. Inexcusable, after waiting so many years for this sly satire to appear on DVD, simply inexcusable. Caveat emptor, my friends.

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