Why I Like Garry Marshall (But Not His Newer Movies)

Scene from Mother's Day
I like Garry Marshall.

Without context, those four words should throw you into a cautionary mode. This phrase generally means that I like his movies. If that's the case, one should be quick to question my tastes, as neither Valentine's Day nor New Year's Eve are worthy of artistic discussion. Even if I was to go back to his heyday when he was making *good* films, it seems like a strange thing to get up in arms over. With the release of his latest film Mother's Day, I am left with this conflicting feeling to discuss his work with a series of caveats attached. While he has made work that I personally enjoy in the past, what I mean when I say "I like Garry Marshall" is that I like him as a person. Everyone has that one celebrity that fits this category. He just happens to be one of mine, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit it sometimes.
For starters, I must admit that Marshall does have a knack for working with great people. While his later films would argue this negatively, I want to go back to his early career. I'm talking about when the Love American Style series launched the spin-off Happy Days and gave the world such iconic characters as The Fonz. This only lead to more spin-offs of the spin-off, including Mork & Mindy and personal favorite Laverne & Shirley. Marshall was there for all of them. While I would argue that his work pales in comparison to his sister Penny Marshall's directorial career, there's no denying that Garry had an impressive run that only continued into the 80's and 90's with career-launching films for both Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman) and Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries films). To say the least, he must be a likable guy.
To an extent, I am an apologist for his career up through fairly recently. He made films that were appealing without being vulgar. It likely came from his time working in TV and trying to appeal to a mass audience. Even then, one could argue that he isn't even the best TV producer-turned-movie director. Many would consider James L. Brooks or even Judd Apatow before his name even came up. In all honesty, that is warranted on sheer acclaim and financial success. However, this is just the core reason as to why I gave Marshall the time of day to begin with. A bigger reason that I admit that I like Garry Marshall is that he is actually, quite possibly, one of the best guests to have on your talk show.
Before I get too far, I'm not even talking about Paul F. Tompkins' great impersonation of him. I am talking about the man himself. It is easy to look at his work and wonder what's so great about him. However, it's another to hear the man speak at length about his career. The one advantage that late night talk shows and podcasts have are that they give insight into the artist who creates the entertainment. While it doesn't shift too many views, as most give the typical yes/no press junket responses, there are those few that shine when forced to have conversations. Dick Cavett and David Letterman were the best at bringing out great interviews. Nowadays, one could likely argue that Marc Maron has taken that crown, even if there's no shortage of great interviewers as it is. Still, if one wants to know why Garry Marshall has so many famous friends, listening to an interview will hopefully give some understanding.

Left to right: Jill Whelan, Garry Marshall, and Brian Thompson
For a certain audience, Marshall's biggest appeal came when he would randomly appear on the KLOS morning program The Mark & Brian Show. It was a radio program that ran for 25 years and became a staple of morning radio for most of those years. They had the familiar formula to what made a show like it work. It was a classic rock station that appealed to older listeners and featured skits and music discussions that were lively and often funny. As per usual, they would also have guests call in to fill time. Among them was Marshall, who became a regular caller and was always fun to hear from (he even threw them in The Princess Diaries for a cameo). When the show left, Marshall would make random appearances on the spin-off programs, such as The Brian & Jill Show. But what was so appealing about Marshall being on these shows to the point that he was a major guest in the final week of The Mark & Brian Show? Personality.
The one thing that becomes immediately clear when talking to Marshall is that he is fun to be around. He is always unimposing and makes jokes in the familiar Jewish pattern that playfully jab at his subjects. For fans of Happy Days and such, he always provided comical stories about his career. He was generally a perfect guest because of how easily he went along with conversations, occasionally taking questions from listeners. It is likely why Tompkins did an impersonation - which is fairly accurate - of him to begin with. He didn't talk exclusively about himself, but it was always fun to hear him feel inclusive in whatever he was talking about. He was the type of person that you wanted to be around, and his constant promotions of community theater would suggest that he likes being collaborative.
The issue is more that this doesn't often translate to his films. Yes, they have the collaborative feel and it does have an enviable cast. Yet it feels like once Valentine's Day became a hit, he found himself stuck in a formula that is rich with parody. Suddenly he made films that were generic and appealed to the romantic comedy audience who likely watched those Happy Days reruns a few too many times. They had the broad humor and got by on your interest in the stars. They weren't necessarily good stories. They just were a bunch of mediocre ones piled together that took place on certain days.
Even then, it's hard for me to write Marshall off entire. He's great at playing a parody of himself. Whether it be on The Simpsons, Louie, or most recently on BoJack Horseman, he does it with so much assurance and humor that you wish that his work was as complex. Even if these roles could at best be described as small cameos, they reflect his charisma to play into his powerful producer persona. Add that to his great interviewing skills, and you have a man who is almost too good to be directing the movies that he does. It's the kind of stuff that makes you wonder what you saw in him. It's also the kind of stuff that makes you realize that saying that you like someone does come with a certain potential blow back.
So when I say that I like Garry Marshall, just know that I mean that I like listening to him talk. While I will admit that he has had a career full of entertaining work, I don't know that this sentiment would come across the right way, especially if he continues to make movies like Mother's Day. However, he will always have a special place in my heart for those phone calls he made to Mark & Brian and those many cameos he made in TV shows. He is a great personality, and one that clearly earns the right to work with anyone. It's just that I wish that maybe he was still as good of a director as he once was so that maybe my comments wouldn't have to have an appendix of self defense every time I say it.

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