4/2/09: Serial (1980)Our favorite (big studio) films of 1980 were
Stardust Memories,
The Gong Show Movie, and
Serial. We were lucky to see all those films during their opening week, because they sure weren’t around for a second one.
The Gong Show Movie would go on to mean the most on a personal level, but
Serial did a fine job as a political film. Sadly, its attack on vapid Leftist thinking didn’t signal the death of that fad.
There’s still a lot to enjoy—much of it during the opening credits. The film opens with a vapid El Lay pop tune while the camera soars through the clouds to land in Marin County. (That’s in the North San Francisco Bay Area.) Harvey Holroyd (Martin Mull) is waking up next to his wife Kate (Tuesday Weld) and feeling playfully amorous. Her hot response: “I think it’s time we really communicated on an adult level where this marriage is headed.” Then he’s given a breakfast of granola while his daughter Joanie complains that nobody ever discusses her needs—which include loaning her the Volvo for the weekend, since she’s going to the beach and her drug-dealing boyfriend hates to get sand in his Porsche.
She calls her father by his first name, too.
Harvey has to bicycle to the ferry to get to work. That’s because his wife is concerned about the environment. Meanwhile, neighbor Martha (Sally Kellerman) has a young son named Stokely who’s begging the maid to expose her naked body. Dr. Leonard Miller is arriving to work as a family therapist, and starts his day with a quick snort of cocaine. Martha is trying to respect the personal space of the stoned laborers who haven’t installed her new Jacuzzi. We learn she’s trying to get things ready for her upcoming wedding ceremony—which is her fifth, or maybe sixth. At least Harvey has one fellow sane soul in Sam Stone (Bill Macy), who has plenty of disdain for the nuts in his neighborhood.
We’re pretty sure the credits have stopped by the time Martha consults with Dr. Miller about her son: “I caught Stokely—not in the sense of spying; you know how I feel about a child’s personal space—treating the maid like a sex object.” From there, it’s difficult to refrain from just running a transcript of the film. Every moment is a great tribute to enlightened oblivion. Consider the exchange between Martha and the new maid, who is wearing a traditional uniform. Martha is troubled by the outfit.
“Oh,” says the maid, “you’d like me to wear regular clothes so people will think your black friend stopped by to clean your house because I’ve got nothing better to do?”
“Would you?”
The film moves quickly, with Harvey enduring lentil loaf during Martha’s latest wedding. Tommy Smothers officiates as Rev. Spike, who makes it a three-way affair when the groom kisses the bride. Stokely keeps having sessions with Dr. Miller, who’s trying to help the kid deal with his sexuality by giving him a Gay Bruce doll. The doctor asks how Stokely’s getting along with Bruce. “I killed him,” explains Stokely, “’cause he was a fag.”
Harv and Kate will split up, reconcile, and split up again. Their daughter will keep the plot moving by becoming an ersatz Moonie. Sam will come to a sad end as a Marin County pod person. And this sweet and moving comedy will wrap up rather suddenly by briefly becoming a variation on one of our favorite
sub-genres of exploitation films. That’s before Harv finally finds happiness with his family. We’re still reminded that the pod people are everywhere. The script chooses the right place for them to follow Harvey, too—although it could’ve been anywhere along the Pacific Coast.
Make it your own: The Gong Show Movie still isn’t on DVD. Fortunately,
Serial was made available early on—but without any extras. The film must have some kind of following, though. It’s based on Cyra McFadden’s hit novel of the time, too, and the book has held up over the years.
