AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

jc-osms Another "Happy Days" spin-off and one fondly remembered from my youth. I've just watched the pilot again and will try to watch more as it lived up to memory of a happy, funny and entertaining show. The "take two girls" set-up works very well and enables the show to still function in the same time-line as "Happy Days" and yet not seem too similar despite the familiar 50's era surroundings.Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams make an ideal pairing, Marshall as the louder, brasher Laverne and Williams as the cuter, more sensitive Shirley. Their two dorkish-but-adoring adoring would-be boyfriends Lenny and Squiggy provide more light relief in the background but, as its perky little theme tune says, these two dreamchasers won't give up till they've made at least one dream come true.Nicely written, with just an occasional touch of risqué humour peeping through and well acted, occasionally benefiting initially from one-shot guest appearances by some of the "Happy Days" crew, the show soon learned to stand on its own and deservedly ran for several series on its own merits.

mnpollio Laverne & Shirley was one of several spin-offs of the popular 1970s Miller/Milkis series Happy Days and centered on two blue collar women living in Wisconsin in the late 1950s/early 1960s. The show was quite popular although it was dismissed by serious critics at the time and returning to it years after the fact only highlights its success. The women, played to perfection by Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, were good-hearted, hard-working individuals making their way in the world on their own power. The show features lots of slapstick humor - which was looked down upon at this time - but it is because of it that this show actually holds up better than such controversial critical darlings of the period such as All in the Family or Maude, which come off as far more dated - even annoyingly so. After this show's demise, it would be many years - until the British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, that two talented actresses would again headline a comedy series featuring copious slapstick. Marshall usually got the best lines which she could hit out of the ballpark, but Williams was a tremendous comedienne herself and an able straight man to Marshall's antics - an issue fully realized when the show was without her in its final season. They were ably supported by a venerable cast featuring the idiotic greasers upstairs Lenny & Squiggy (the immortal Michael McKean and David L. Lander), Shirley's steadfast boxer/singer boyfriend Carmine (cute Eddie Mekka), Laverne's bull-headed father Phil Foster, and kind landlady and Laverne's future stepmom Betty Garrett. Guest visits by Carol Ita White as the bane of Laverne's existence - Rosie Greenbaum - were hilarious. Particularly memorable series moments abounded, but two of the best included a murder mystery-themed train trip and a crossover episode with Happy Days featuring a side-splitting square dance. The series started to deteriorate when producers moved the action to save costs from Milkwaukee to California, with all the regulars improbably in tow. New semi-regulars were added to little avail including Leslie Easterbrook as a blonde bombshell named Rhonda Lee and Ed Marinaro as a beefcake neighbor with designs on Laverne. Both actors were perfectly fine, but the writers never seemed to know what to do exactly with Easterbrook and Marinaro ultimately vanished with barely a nod. The talented and criminally underused Garrett left the show with little fanfare as well. Then the final nail was the departure of Williams after acrimonious contract disputes in a ridiculously improbable scenario which left the show without its trademark dynamic. While Marshall was a talented comedic actress, a straight woman was desperately required. A rotating roster of guest stars including Vicky Lawrence, Carrie Fisher and Laraine Newman made their way through, but none of them sparked like Williams did and the show finally whimpered out of existence. Even on that note, the majority of the seasons preceding are definitely filled with hilarity and uplifting fun.

Brian Washington When Laverne and Shirley first debuted on Happy Days, little did anyone know that that supposed one off appearance would lead to a classic. Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams were perfect as the wild Laverne and the prissy Shirley. However, the rest of the cast deserves credit for this excellent slice of life comedy, especially Michael McKeon and David Lander as everyone's favorite losers Lenny and Squiggy. But the thing that made this show great was the fact that it was one of the all-time great slapsctick comedies.

katieb06907 This is a great show. I was thrilled when it was released on video. The characters are hysterical and love all the episodes. "Shirley's Operation is one of my favorites. A "mediocre" show would not last six years on primetime, go into syndication and then get released on video.