Awakenings reunited Marshall with Robin Williams, with whom she had costarred in the Happy Days TV universe (her in Laverne & Shirley, he in Mork & Mindy). It was a more serious film than she'd tackled before, focussed on the fallout when a drug is developed that could awaken and cure victims of an epidemic. Although Marshall did not snag an Oscar nomination, the film itself was nominated for best picture.