In the days before Hammerin’ Hank Aaron, Schlitz was known as the beer that made Milwaukee famous. Then later a very popular sitcom came along called Happy Days which made the city even more famous and its stars, notably, Ron Howard, a lot of money.

As fate plays its hand, Howard went on to direct multi-million dollar movies, some becoming mega-hits, others, mega-misses. Now the multi-billion dollar porn industry is aiming its satirical guns in Howard’s direction. Then, again, no one’s ever provided proof that the porn industry actually rakes in all this loot because if that were true, it would be making multi-million dollar flicks just like Hollywood instead of multi-thousand dollar ones.

You can argue the veracity of porn budgets until the cows come home, but now comes along director Axel Braun to take another crack at the re-emerging homage genre which, if you’ll recall, was the porn mainstay during the emerging VHS tape era.

To wit, Braun recently helmed XXX’s third official try at a Star Trek satire. [Scotty Fox’s was the first to do so – back in the Eighties, and Cash Markman did one about two years ago]. Although Braun’s isn’t exactly a name you’d associate with SNL-type comedy sketches and tomfoolery, he’s at it again with Happy Days.

Squirting movies are what Braun became indelibly linked with there for awhile. But in his latest project, Braun might surprise you with his versatility by hauling out a tidy little script that’s stamped with an easy going charm, and an indelible eye for detail [the Arnold’s interiors, particularly, would make any redblooded teen male proud to jerk his soda].

Added up, as you might imagine, all this makes Braun’s exhaustive time and effort pay off handsomely with a naughty sitcom to be reckoned with. Besides, you can already smell sequel all over this one.

Thusly, Braun has brought the Happy Days franchise [but with the usual disclaimer title] to life on the Hustler label with a remarkable ensemble piece that puts Tommy Gunn unerringly in the Fonz role and supports him with a passel of winners in what must have been an on the QT supporting cast lookalike contest.

You might get some Cosby show proponents stoking their cause, but man-for-man [and woman] this might be the best match up casting job seen so far in the porn parody paradigm. Rumor even has it that James Bartholet as Howard Cunningham reminds you so much of Tom Bosley [who also had a show, Murder She Wrote] that sightings of Angela Lansbury lurking on Braun’s set had to be continually dispelled. Kidding.

From top to bottom [and in the literal sense] Braun’s feature nails it for whimsy and the trademark set pieces, even to the extent that Jack Lawrence, in the name of art, has dyed his ball hairs to authenticate Ralph Malph, the red headed stepchild of the group. Lawrence, like Anthony Rosano’s Potsie also does goofy pretty well, and Alan Stafford playing Richie as a shade or two cooler than these guys, might have more five o’clock shadow than the original but there’s no one else as physically capable for the role.

With 255 original TV episodes to draw from for inspiration, Braun could have been all over the place with plots and subplots but keeps the story relatively simple. After all, this is pretty much about cute girls with ponytails and poodle skirts and the dorky guys who adore them but don’t have the panache of The Fonz to even imagine getting to first base.

Grimly aware of their menial output in the scoring column, Richie, Potsie and Ralph, after drawing straws, seek wooing tips from the grand master, who, for the sake of argument, also had the benefit of first perfecting his finger-snapping Brando-ish Romeo in leather archetype in the film, Lords of Flatbush.

So far, Ralph’s experience is that he kissed Marilyn Monroe in his dreams, but this TMZ-style nocturnal emission is as near to a real pair of soiled shorts Ralph has had. Fonz, who’s probably never worn a pair of dry briefs in his life, calls his makeout sessions “research and development” and repairs to the mens room with a couple of chicks to see what develops in a threeway.

In exchange for this hands-on tutoring session which also reveals other techniques in the art of cool, Ralph has agreed to clean Fonz’s bike every day for a year, caring for its curves- at Fonz’s insistence- like a beautiful woman. In return, the boys get an inkling of what real porn sex is like including Fonz’s demonstration of a reverse jackknife. Was this bedroom maneuver even considered or heard of back in the Fifties and Sixties?

Of course, Joanie [Misty Stone] rats out Richie’s plans at the family dinner table. Even though mom and dad are down to their own one session a week in the sack, they’re pretty cool with the idea, and dad’s even rooting for Richie to get lucky, and Richie does with a big busted blonde cheerleader.

With that gleam in her eye, you know sooner or later, Mrs. C [Braun couldn’t have done better than Raquel Devine to define this MILF masterpiece] is gonna get some. But not necessarily from her husband.

Which makes for some of the surprise element of Braun’s little drama. Meanwhile Joanie’s flipped head over heels for Kris Slater’s womanizing Chachi, who’s a worm by every imaginable standard and is screwing her best friend Jenny [once more, a perfectly cast Penny Flame.]

But Joanie’s revenge fuck is realized when Ralph and Potsie pull off the unimaginable by doing her at the family homestead. Haaaaaaaaay!