Movie Info
Movie Name: The Brady Bunch Movie
Studio: Paramount Pictures/Sherwood Schwartz Productions
Genre(s): Comedy
Release Date(s): February 17, 1995
MPAA Rating: PG-13
The Bradys are back…sort of
The Bradys are a little different. Their house is in a neighborhood prime for development, and Mike and Carol Brady (Gary Cole and Shelley Long) refuse to sell to their neighbor Larry Dittmeyer (Michael McKean). As the last holdout, all the neighborhood is relying on the Bradys to sell. When Bobby (Jesse Lee Soffer), Cindy (Olivia Hack), Peter (Paul Sutera), Jan (Jennifer Elise Cox), Greg (Christopher Daniel Barnes), and Marcia (Christine Taylor) learn that their dad needs to come up with $20,000 in back taxes to keep their house, a rush is on to save their home!
Directed by Betty Thomas, The Brady Bunch Movie is a comedy parody. The movie is based on The Brady Bunch which aired from September 26, 1969 to March 8, 1974 on ABC. The film received average to positive reviews and a strong box office return.
Having grown up on The Brady Bunch (in early reruns of it), the Bradys were always a part of life…but like everyone else, there were always weird questions about the Brady Bunch, their nauseating closeness, and if they were “normal” even in the late 1960s and 1970s…The Brady Bunch Movie capitalizes on all of this.
Mrs. Brady…you’re trying to seduce me
However, The Brady Bunch Movie is rather niche and even more niche as the years go on. In 1995, enough people were pretty familiar with The Brady Bunch and even episodes of the series that directly factor in were in the public consciousness. If you didn’t watch the series or have a pretty good grasp on the tone or characters, you won’t enjoy the movie. It also is very based in the 1990s so now even the “fish out of water” jokes about the Bradys apply to the characters that live around them.
The casting is perfect. Florence Henderson, Ann B. Davis, Barry Williams, and Christopher Knight from the original show make cameos while the Monkees Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, and Peter Tork also appear. Michael McKean plays the heavy (with Jean Smart as his wife), but the real stars are Gary Cole, Shelley Long, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Christine Taylor, Paul Sutera, Jennifer Elise Cox, Jesse Lee Soffer, Olivia Hack, and Henriette Mantel who for the most part nail their imitations of the Bradys. You also get David Graf from Police Academy as Sam the Butcher and a small role by RuPaul.
I think I’ll go for a walk outside!
The movie largely plays with the 1970s look clashing with the 1990s look. The Bradys’ house was cool and modern but now looks dated and weird (and that Astroturf never made sense). It is also interesting to note that characters like Jan would still be popular (though weird) while people like Greg would just be geeks instead of cool for their looks and behavior.
The Brady Bunch Movie is a fun little ride if you liked the show, but it is just for those who did. It came out at a time when a lot of old sitcoms were being re-invented and parodied, and it is one of the better takes on the genre. The movie’s success did garner a sequel (which also has some fun) and hits at more Brady Bunch episodes. The Brady Bunch Movie was followed by A Very Brady Sequel in 1996.
