Customer Reviews
Just like I remember it 
2008-10-09
I have been waiting for this film to go to DVD - and now its available. I have to agree that in this digital age, a little more "technology" could have been used when making the Master copy, or the lab did shoddy work. Content still great - and what a flashback.
Good, But Not As Good As I Remembered 2008-09-09
The DVD is fine as tro the quality of the video, sound etc. I did not enjoy this movie as much as I originally did. It is still a funny tkae on the 60's CA lifestyles, and can be enjoyable if you have never seen it before.
Marin County Morons 2008-08-26
This is a brilliant satire of Marin County, California residents and their obsessions with "New Age" nonsense; political correctness, weird sexual fads, "finding" one's self, religious cults, and ridiculous psycho-babble terminology. While this movie was made in 1980, its satire is still (sad to say) applicable in today's California.
Martin Mull, in his first starring role, plays the only seemingly sane person in his circle of friends (as his precocious young neighbor points out, "The sane man must appear to be mad in an insane world"). Mull's dry wit is perfectly in tune with a script that gives him lots of truly memorable comic lines ("Your name is just "woman"? How do you get your mail?").
Mull is joined in the cast by other 1980s-era stars like Sally Kellerman, Bill Macy, Tom Smothers, Peter Bonerz, and Christopher Lee. Don't miss this one!
Great Film - Poor video quality 2008-07-30
SerialThis is one of my all time favorite movies; the perfect send up of pompous bay area dilatantes. I waited a long time for this film to come out on DVD; while the film is still as funny as I remembered it, the print quality is terrible.
Yet another 5-star film with a 1-star remastering. Boo! Hiss! 
2008-07-28
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.
The Marin County Line 
2008-07-27
Harvey Holroyd (Martin Mull) is a Marin County resident who is surrounded by strangeness. His family, neighbors and co-workers all seem consumed by the fads and trends of the late '70s, and it's getting to be too much to take. Sex, drugs, psychobabble and health food - it's enough to drive anyone insane! Tuesday Weld, Christopher Lee and Tommy Smothers help make up a wacky all-star cast.
Serial is a biting and hilarious satire of late '70s California life that seems eerily prophetic three decades later.
Pretty relevant today 2008-06-25
The description above calls this a "satire of late '70s California life that seems eerily prophetic three decades later. ", and that's pretty accurate. The movie is a satire on "political correctness" years before the term came into use. All the PC characters come across as the most pretentious group of people imagineable, with Mull's character increasingly fighting the phoniness surrounding him. The ridiculous funeral scene really stands out. A small but very well-done movie.
Fantastic Satire starring Martin Mull, Tuesday Weld, Tom Smothers, Christopher Lee, Sally Kellerman .... 2008-06-14
... and a wonderful ensemble cast including Stacey Nelkin, Peter Bonerz, Bill Macy and other excellent comic actors. (I do hope amazon will revise its listing of the lead actors at the top of this page).
This is a brilliant satire of "new age" life in Marin County, California in the 1970s, with hilarious dialogue and situations throughout. Martin Mull and Tuesday Weld make an unlikely but perfect comedy team. The book of the same name by Cyra McFadden, on which the film is based, was very enjoyable, but the film is even better, and has added some content not in the book, e.g. Christopher Lee's character.
Thanks to all involved for the long awaited release of this DVD!!
P.S. 6/16/08: Thank you, amazon.com, for changing the list of lead actors on this page!!
Finally on DVD!!! Thank you!!! 2008-06-06
I love this movie. I used to watch it on HBO growing up, and now, in my 40's, it is one of my favorite movies. Martin Mull is great as the american everyman, trying to keep his wits about him in the 70s new age, Marin County hip yuppie swinging scene. If you love the 70s, wood sided houses, hot tubs, the San Francisco Bay, and old school R rated comedies, you'll love this movie.
