Garry Marshall’s movie heyday: What stands out?

Sure, he was known for some pretty trifling romcoms in recent years. But Garry Marshall, who died Tuesday at the age of 81, had a very strong bigscreen career in addition to all his great TV work.

This was back, of course, when the studio system had room for the kind of human-scaled dramedy that’s now an endangered species. It was easy of late to get on Marshall for what could seem like cashgrabby complacency, movies like “Mother’s Day” and “New Years Eve” and their ilk. But back in the day, when you could have a flourishing Hollywood career without making a big action movie or a raunchy comedy, Marshall was the master.

His films were watchable and likable but also deft and thoughtful. “Pretty Woman” sits high on this list. But there are other gems too. Here are Marshall’s five best, in descending (and totally subjective) order

5. “Frankie & Johnny” (1991)

Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer? In a rom-com? Yes, it was counterintuitive casting. But at the height of their dramatic careers, that was the kind of subtle stroke Marshall pulled off so well. As was the film, a sentimental but not (always) schmaltzy rom-com with more than its share of its zingers. Also, it’s based on a Terrence McNally play and script, and the idea of Marshall & McNally collaborating on anything is pretty much gold right there.

4. “The Flamingo Kid” (1984)

It was never clear why this movie, about a working-class youth maneuvering his way around a tony beach club in the summer of the early 1960s, came out at Christmas. But it was still pretty good, the kind of ambling character study Hollywood was still making back in those Reagan days. A young Matt Dillon, breezy good times and a tagline — “a legend in his own neighborhood” a marketer would kill for these days. What’s not to like? With a gin rummy game for the ages (“Sweet Ginger Brown”!) thrown in. In the era of “Dirty Dancing” and “Diner”— directors looking back nostalgically at their own hazy youth — this fit right in.

3. “Exit to Eden” (1994)

The idea of Marshall doing a BDSM anything is just impossible to turn away from, like a certain kind of traffic event. That it was a heist comedy, set on a tropical island, and veering toward farce, only makes this more amazing. If you haven’t seen it, see it. We can’t promise you’ll think it’s great. But you’ll at least realize Garry Marshall had an, um, other side to him.

2.”Pretty Woman” (1990)

Could it be a quarter-century ago since Richard Gere and Julia Roberts (and Costanza!) were frolicking at the Beverly Wilshire? A host of elements make the movie great, from the chemistry to the comedy (more setups than one-liners) to the details (no kissing on the mouth, e.g). Then there was the genre itself, subtly transgressive, a fairy tale remade as a more adult-oriented comedy. Also, any soundtrack with Roxette and Peter Cetera that doesn’t make you want to hurl bricks is a good thing. And while it hasn’t stood up to some modern lenses — here’s a not-so-favorable take — it’s still strong enough to be second-best.

1. “Overboard” (1987)

Sorry, some of you some wanted “Beaches.” Perhaps the songs could keep you company. In the meantime, there’s “Overboard,” that great screwball Goldie Hawn-Kurt Russell comedy that came out the year before. It’s about class, it’s about boats, it’s about amnesia as comic device. It’s just wacky enough to be funny but just grounded enough to be heartfelt. The best of what the 1980s could do. The best, in many ways, of what Marshall could do.

@ZeitchikLAT