Serial

Y'know how sometimes a movie gets absorbed into your life? You quote from it, you think about it, you occasionally have real-life experiences that jog your memory of a particular scene. For a lot of people, this movie is "Casablanca," or perhaps "When Harry Met Sally." For me it's "Serial."

In 1980 I was 15 years old and going to High School in Marin County, California, the same time and place as "Serial." My formative-to-rebellious years were spent at ground zero of the birth of the new age and PC movements (some might argue that this was actually Boulder, Colorado or Sedona, Arizona, but let's not split hairs).

Natch, I grew up hating these attitudes. Like the protagonist Harvey Holroyd, I would listen to the pablum puke coming out of peoples' mouths and (figuratively) weep for the future.

It's only gotten worse.

"Serial" is a hilarious and sharply observed comedy which can easily strike the casual viewer as dated and arcane, but listen, really *listen* to the minor characters in this movie: - The bearded hippie who wants to help Kate carry things up the stairs but demurs because, "like, that would be sexist." In 2002, is not chivalry truly dead? - The flighty and annoying trend-hopper Carol, who by the end of the film has decided she's gay, even though according to Kate she's "still a c***." Ever know a LUG (Lesbian Until Graduation)? - The young checkout girl with whom Harvey has a fling, who from the get-go stands Nazi-like over Harvey's eating habits, rigidly attempting to control what Harvey puts in his "one and only body." Ever know someone who deals with the chaos and vagaries of life through their eating disorder?

So, is "Serial" merely a dated light comedy? To me, it's much more: it's an open-handed slap to the face of the now-prevalent ideas that started in this time and place. Two years after this film came out, I became an angry young punk rocker, and left this film for a few years, but it never left me.

P.S.: My laserdisc copy looks and sounds terrible. I want a DVD!!

I was always curious about this film. I had always figured that it would be a throwaway heavy-handed hit-and-miss increasingly dated piece about the 70s. Having spent the past 20 years in the SF Bay area, and "encountered" much of the new age mentality that still thrives there, I knew I'd have to at least give it a shot.

Well, Serial turned out to be a treat -- a brilliant, unexpected satire. It had me smiling or laughing from beginning to end, a few "pansy" comments notwithstanding. Sure, the pre-AIDS sexual situations are exaggerated and from another time. But nearly every target -- self-actualization, meditation, medication, cult groups, fad therapy, relationships, etc. -- is hit. Martin Mull plays the central character in the midst of all the mumbo jumbo with perfect subtlety.

Maybe some of the low votes come from people who think that people couldn't possibly talk and act the way these characters do. Well, they did and still do.

Satire can be a delicate medium. It's very easy to simply go for the straight joke and bully one's way thru the material. At times, Serial does do this, and this, combined with an overall feel of being a TV movie, is what costs it two points on my rating. However, these are minor blemishes. The Marin scene was truly mad in those days. Take my word for it, I was there. And just because the characters are archetypes doesn't mean they shouldn't be recorded, for the amusement of future generations that might otherwise be tempted to go all out for personal growth and freedom.

Seen thru the eyes of the 'relatively normal' Harvey Holroyd, the scene in Marin is freewheeling and novel, the first few times around the track. After that, the consequences start lurching into sight and people's deeper selves start emerging, hurt, confused and unmoored, just as in life. You'd think that would make Serial funny for the first 45 minutes and from then on a drag. Not in the least, particularly due to the introduction of Skull, the madcap recruiter. This element permits the pace not only to avoid maudlin regrets, but to increase the pace and the zaniness, zapping targets in all directions with merry abandon.

A winner all the way and highly recommended for anyone who wants to see Hollywood put the wringer to itself.

Those who like this film might also like 'The Player' and 'Network', which are more serious takes on trenchant satire of the New Age generations.

This is in my top ten of all time favourite films.

Harvey Holroyd can't understand what's happening around him. His wife has started to raise her consciousness, his daughter is concerned about her rights, his best friend who has a preoccupation with the Johnny Carson show is bombed out on pills and he's been a loser for 5 years!

I can sum this fantastic film up in two quotes from it: "Reality is watching a pair of self proclaimed assholes getting pair-bonded by a priest from the gong show". "Are they hell's angels?" "No they're gay. On weekdays they're regular guys with regular jobs but at weekends they dress up like hell's angels and listen to a lot of Judy Garland record". Priceless!

"Serial" is an often uproariously funny satire lampooning the the fad-conscious lives of a group of citizens living in laid-back Marin County California in the late-70s, a small community just across the bay from San Francisco. Martin Mull plays Harvey Holroyd, an average family man growing increasingly exasperated at the craziness that seems to be surrounding him. The crazes gradually envelop his wife and daughter and his best friend. As he contends with drugs, health foods, sex orgies, new-age shrinks, religious cults and a boss who belongs to a "gay on weekends" motorcycle gang (horror vet Christopher Lee in a very amusing turn), the laughs pile up in fine fashion.

There are plenty of sharp, witty one-liners in the script by Rich Eustis & Michael Elias and TV veteran Bill Persky keeps the gags flowing nicely. Martin Mull is first-rate in his role and is surrounded by a fine supporting cast.

A thoroughly pleasant and extremely funny satire, very much a reflection of its time. Well worth searching out!