Michael McKean Movies

It's December of 1941, and the people of California are in varying states of unease, ranging from a sincere desire to defend the country to virtual blind panic in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thus begin several story threads that comprise the "plot" of this strange period comedy, a sort of satirical disaster movie, from Steven Spielberg. The stories and story threads involve lusty young men, officers (Tim Matheson) and civilians (Bobby Di Cicco) alike, eager to bed the young ladies of their dreams; Wild Bill Kelso, a nutty fighter pilot (John Belushi) following what he thinks is a squadron of Japanese fighters along the California coast; a well-meaning but clumsy tank crew (including John Candy) led by straight-arrow, by-the-book Sgt. Tree (Dan Aykroyd), who doesn't recognize the thug (Treat Williams) in his command; and homeowner Ward Douglas (Ned Beatty), who is eager to do his part for the nation's defense and, despite the misgivings of his wife (Lorraine Gary), doesn't mind his front yard overlooking the ocean being chosen to house a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. There is also a pair of grotesquely inept airplane spotters (Murray Hamilton, Eddie Deezen) who are doing their job from atop a ferris wheel at a beachfront amusement park; a paranoid army colonel (Warren Oates) positive that the Japanese are infiltrating from the hills; a big dance being held on behalf of servicemen, being attended by a lusty young woman of size (Wendie Jo Sperber) eager to land a man in uniform; and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell (Robert Stack), in charge of the defense of the West Coast, who can't seem to get anyone to listen to him when he says to keep calm. And, oh yes, there's also a real Japanese submarine that has gotten all the way to the California coast under the command of its captain (Toshiro Mifune) and a German officer observer (Christopher Lee), only to find itself without a working compass or usable maps. Its captain won't leave until the sub has attacked a militarily significant, honorable target, and the only one that anyone aboard ship knows of in California is Hollywood. By New Year's Eve, all of these characters are going to cross paths, directly or once-removed, in a comedy of errors and destruction strongly reminiscent of the finale to National Lampoon's Animal House (as well as several disaster movies from the same studio), but on a much larger and more impressive scale. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

When Laverne & Shirley signed on in January of 1976, America's top-rated program was Happy Days -- of which Laverne & Shirley was, of course, a spin-off. By the time the last-named series entered its third season, it had climbed to the coveted number one slot, while Happy Days had retreated to number two. Season three opens with a typically slapsticky entry, "Airport '59," wherein Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Penny Marshall) end up at the controls of a passenger plane. Later on, in the series' first two-parter, "Cruise," our heroines take a vacation on a luxury liner, only to be saddled with a pair of stowaways -- none other than their Shotz Brewery co-workers Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander). In a subsequent installment, 1950s singing idol Fabian shows up as Laverne & Shirley's first era-appropriate guest star. And in a brace of physical-humor tours de force, "The Obstacle Course" and "2001: A Comedy Odyssey," the girls (a) become police recruits and (b) imagine what their lives will be like in old age. But for all its hilarious hijinks, the third season's most memorable episode is also its most moving and poignant: "The Slow Child," guest-starring Linda Gillen as Amy Babish, the mentally challenged daughter of Laverne and Shirley's landlady, Edna Babish (Betty Garrett). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ending its first season as America's second most popular TV series (its "inspiration," Happy Days, was the first), Laverne & Shirley held fast to the second-place slot throughout season two. Still set in the late '50s, the series continues to star Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams as Milwaukee brewery workers and best friends/roommates Laverne De Fazio and Shirley Feeney, with Phil Foster as Laverne's pizzeria-owner dad, Frank, Eddie Mekka as Laverne's off-and-on boyfriend Carmine, and Michael McKean and David L. Lander as the girls' zany co-workers Lenny and Squiggy. New to the series this season are Betty Garrett as Laverne and Shirley's warmhearted landlady, Edna Babish, and in a recurring role, Carole Ita White as the girls' overbearing high-school chum Rosie Greenbaum. Highlights this season include the episodes "Bachelor Mothers" and "Excusie Me, May I Cut In?," both crossovers with Happy Days featuring Henry Winkler as Fonzie in the first episode, Ron Howard and Anson Williams as Richie and Potsie in the second; "Brother Can You Spare a Father," in which Shirley has an uncomfortable reunion with her ne'er-do-well dad (played by Scott Brady); and "Christmas Eve at the Booby Hatch," the first of the series' several "let's put on a show" outings, showing off the musical talents of the regulars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Exploiting the overwhelmingly positive audience response to the 1975 Happy Days episode in which Richie (Ron Howard) and Potsie (Anson Williams) found themselves on a riotous date with brash but lovable "older women" Laverne De Fazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams), executive producer Garry Marshall obligingly whipped up a spin-off series showcasing these two supporting characters, logically titled Laverne & Shirley. Most of the familiar pieces are already in place during the series' 15-episode inaugural season: roommates Laverne and Shirley work at Milwaukee's Shotz Brewery along with zany beer-truck drivers Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander); the girls occasionally hang out at the Pizza Bowl, owned by Laverne's widowed father, Frank (Phil Foster); and while long-suffering Shirley bounces from one loser boyfriend to another, Laverne has a fairly steady relationship with the preening, self-consciously macho Carmine (Eddie Mekka). All that is missing from season one is the girls' landlady Edna Babish, though Helen Page Camp is seen in a handful of early episodes as apartment manager Mrs. Havenhurst. In order to assure Laverne & Shirley a well-attended launching, Happy Days star Henry Winkler appeared as "The Fonz" in the new series' first two episodes. By the time the season-one finale "Mother Knows Worst" (featuring Pat Carroll in her only appearance as Shirley's mom) rolled around, Laverne & Shirley was America's second most popular series (just guess what was number one!). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide