Dennis Klein Movies

Facing increasing stress, Larry (Garry Shandling) finally loses it altogether when Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) falls asleep during the live show. The final episode of the first season, this installment of HBO's popular late-night talk show parody The Larry Sanders Show features special guest stars Ray Combs, Earl Holliman, Bob Saget, and T-Bone Burnett. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Cocoon is a warm-hearted science-fiction fable that avoids becoming overly corny thanks to the performances of its mostly senior cast. Wilford Brimley, Don Ameche, and Hume Cronyn are three old-timers who sneak out of their retirement home a few days a week to swim in the large pool on an abandoned estate next door. When the threesome begins to feel curiously younger, they discover strange pods on the floor of the pool. These pods are alien cocoons, which are being pulled from the ocean by a team of extra-terrestrials in human form led by Walter (Brian Dennehy), who has hired a local charter operator (Steve Guttenberg) to assist him. Walter explains to the seniors that energy from the cocoons is restoring youth and vigor to the older men every time they go for a dip. The aliens agree to let the men continue to swim in secret, but of course they can't keep their discovery to themselves. Soon the pool is swarming with retirees, with the notable exception of Bernie (Jack Gilford), who has no interest in prolonging life any longer than necessary. The aliens ultimately prepare to return home and offer the retirees eternal life if they leave Earth behind as well. Director Ron Howard treats his old-timers with care and dignity, and they respond with deeply sympathetic performances (Ameche won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar); the film's science-fiction trappings ably sustain the story's all-too-human ruminations on youth, aging, life, and death. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

In one of the series' most moving episodes, Laverne (Penny Marshall) tries to resolve the long-standing resentment she holds towards her late mother. Feeling "deserted" because she was deprived of a mother so early in life, Laverne has never been able to visit her mom's grave. But if her dad Frank (Phil Foster) has anything to say about it, Laverne will make her long-delayed pilgrimage to the cemetary before the week is out. Despite its serious overtones, the episode manages to deliver several solid laughs, notably when Laverne complains that she grew up deprived of having an older female around to tell her "how high to shave her legs." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A jealous Laverne (Penny Marshall) finds Shirley (Cindy Williams) impossible to live with when her old pal is promoted to the job of beer tester at Shotz Brewery. What swell-headed Shirley doesn't know is that her promotion is part of a ruse concocted by rapacious brewery executive Wolfgang Gessler (Greg Lewis), aka "Old Sauerkraut." Unless Laverne can get over her anger and race to her roomie's rescue, Wolfgang intends to take advantage of Shirley as the beer she is testing makes her dizzier and dizzier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide