The Brady Bunch Movie

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The Brady Bunch Movie

The Brady Bunch Movie poster
Directed by Betty Thomas
Produced by David Kirkpatrick
Lloyd J. Schwartz
Sherwood Schwartz
Written by Sherwood Schwartz (characters)
Laurice Elehwany
Rick Copp
Bonnie Turner
Terry Turner
Starring Shelley Long
Gary Cole
Christine Taylor
Christopher Daniel Barnes
Jennifer Elise Cox
Paul Sutera
Olivia Hack
Jesse Lee
Henriette Mantel
Music by Guy Moon
Cinematography Mac Ahlberg
Editing by Peter Teschner
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) 17 February 1995
Running time 90 min.
Country USA
Language English
IMDb profile

The Brady Bunch Movie is a 1995 comedy film adaptation of the 1969-1974 television series The Brady Bunch.

The film features all the original regular characters, all played by new actors. It also took the unusual route of placing the original sitcom characters, with their 1970s fashion sense and 1970s sitcom family morality, in a contemporary 1990s setting, and parodied the resulting culture clash. The movie was a hit and was followed by A Very Brady Sequel in 1996, and a less successful television movie called The Brady Bunch in the White House in 2002.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The movie begins with the Bradys' next door neighbor Mr. Dittmeyer (an unscruplous real estate developer) being chewed out by someone on his cellular phone. After he utters the line, "What's their story," the long-familiar opening begins.

The Bradys are the last holdouts in Mr. Dittmeyer's scheme to raze the neighborhood in lieu of a new shopping mall. After being warned not to tattle, Cindy is sent to the Dittmeyers' because the Bradys accidentally got their mail; she is asked to see if he has their mail, too. One of the letters she brings home is notification that the Bradys face foreclosure on their house if they don't pay $20,000 in back taxes. It is the fifth notice; they missed the other two because Mr. Dittmeyer got them and threw them away without opening them. Mike and Carol brush off the crisis as solvable; they are sure Mike's boss will give him an advance if he can sell an architectural design. They are more concerned with Peter's voice changing.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her family, Jan is hearing psychotic voices in her head crying "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!". The school counselor Mrs. Cummings (played by RuPaul) advises her to consider a new look - one that will make her stand out from her sisters and be noticed. Jan enthusiastically accepts the advice, and Mrs. Cummings asks her to return when she's pregnant. Jan later purchases a huge black afro wig, but is still overshadowed by Marcia.

At school, Marcia has caught the eye of hunk Doug Simpson (as well as lesbian classmate, Noreen, Alanna Ubach). She accepts his offer to go to the school dance, but forgets that she has asked nice-but-unspectacular Charlie out. Greg's advice is to use the same line that other girls have used on him: "Something suddenly came up." Before the dance, Doug takes Marcia out for a drive to lookout point, parks the car and attempts to have sex with the lovely Brady girl (he french kisses her). Marcia tells him that she isn't interested, and a disgusted Doug leaves her stranded at the side of the road. As Doug pulls away a limousine pulls up.

At the dance, Greg does his "Johnny Bravo" performance and is booed offstage. Marcia arrives later and introduces the star performer of the night, Davy Jones. Although years past his Monkees heyday, he gets a rousing reception from the teachers present; when the backing rock band changes up his performance, the kids respond, too. Marcia arrives at the dance and apologizes to Charlie, who forgives her and asks her to dance with him. Doug, seeing Marcia with Charlie, becomes jealous and calls her a slut. Charlie attempts to confront Doug unsuccessfully. Noreen, witnessing the entire incident, punches Doug in the face, knocking him unconscious. When Marcia sees Doug on the floor, she assumes it was Charlie who punched him out and is flattered. Marcia and Charlie leave the dance together, and Noreen is heartbroken (but soon comforted by another attractive girl). Charlie takes Marcia home, who promptly gives him the thrill of a lifetime with a French kiss of her own.

The next day, Mr. Dittmeyer is going through his mail when he notices a letter for the Bradies marked "final notice." He discovers that the Bradys have past-due property taxes, and he confronts Mike. Mike, however, has sold one of his designs to an Asian entrepeneur and says he has the $20,000. Dittmeyer meddles in the deal and Mike loses his advance. The family packs up everything but the night before they have to move out Marcia suggests the kids enter a "Search For the Stars" contest for fresh young musical groups. Jan, having original suggested this and been rejected, runs away from home in fury. Cindy sees her leaving and tattles, and the whole family goes on a search for her. They use their car C.B. radio which is heard by Schultzy (Ann B. Davis), the driver who picks Jan up and convinces her to return home.

The next morning, Mr. Dittmeyer is celebrating the success of his scheme when his plans become unraveled. First, the Bradys win the top prize of $20,000 on "Search for the Stars," the amount needed to cover the tax bill. Later, the Bradys' neighbors decide to withdraw their homes from the market, and the neighborhood is secured.

[edit] Parodies and Similar Storylines

Through the movie, there are moments and plotlines which were taken straight from episodes from the original television series. These moments include:

  • Jan's jealousy of Marcia - "My Sister's Shadow"
  • Peter's voice breaking - "Dough Re Me"
  • Bobby's being a safety monitor at school - "Law and Disorder"
  • Alice and Sam - various episodes
  • Mike's boss, Mr. Phillips - various episodes
  • Cindy being a tattletale - "The Tattletale"
  • Greg's singing career - "Adios Johnny Bravo" and other episodes
  • Marcia's football incident - "The Subject Was Noses"

[edit] Cast

Four original cast members have small parts in the movie. Ann B. Davis played a trucker, Christopher Knight played a coach, Barry Williams played a music director, and Florence Henderson played Grandma Brady.

[edit] Trivia

  • Christopher Knight (original Peter Brady) makes a short cameo in the scene where Peter is threatened by two boys when carrying a girl's tray at lunch. As one boy threatens to hit Peter, Knight yells, "Do it and Die!"
  1. The film was a suprise success at the boxoffice and temprary ressucated shelley longs ailing career
  • Christopher Daniel Barnes (Greg Brady) was among the cast of the short-lived NBC TV series Day by Day, playing Ross Harper. In a 1989 episode, Ross falls asleep and dreams he is Chuck Brady, the "lost Brady," creating a Brady Bunch reunion, with much of the original cast.
  • Peter utters his most famous catchphrase, "Pork Chops And Applesauce," and the phrase appears on the kitchen's blackboard menu.
  • Mrs. Whitfield (played by Beverly Archer), the teacher whom safety monitor Bobby shakes down for stealing school supplies, was the name of a teacher from the original Brady Bunch series.
  • A number of scenes shown in trailers were cut at the last minute because producer Sherwood Schwartz objected. These included a grunge band scene in the garage with Greg and Eddie, and a seduction scene between the neighbor's wife and Peter. Some of these scenes were edited back in for the network TV showings, but not for the DVD edition.
  • The 1973 song "It's a Sunshine Day" from the TV series was included in this film, in the scene where the Bradys go to Sears. However, the song has been slowed down, and some parts have been cut out to include singing parts done by the new actors.
  • In the film, every time the Bradys are in their backyard or the house itself, the shot composition, camera movements and the lighting and colors reflect the look of the original series. Whenever they leave these areas the film switches to the more naturalistic look of contemporary cinematography, featuring steadicam shots and more realistic-looking exterior lighting.
  • In one school scene, the Partridge Family's bus passes in front of the camera.
  • Another inside joke pertaining to the show was made in a scene where some of the neighbors confront Mr. Dittmeyer about the Bradys. One of the neighbors, Mr. Yeager (portrayed by James Avery of Fresh Prince fame) commented on the bathroom that the six Brady children shared -- "One time I was over there. One bathroom for nine people? And I never did see a toilet."
  • The producers had sought to use the original house that was used for exterior shots from the original Brady Bunch series, but the owners of the home in North Hollywood, California refused because of many years of trespassing fans. Instead, they found a similar home in nearby Encino, and erected a facade, and filmed scenes in the front yard.
  • When talking to the investors, Mr.Dittmeyer mentions a building that Mike designed that collapsed. The story was similar to the final act of the TV movie A Very Brady Christmas.
  • Based on test audience reactions a cameo featuring original series actor Florence Henderson was included in the film.
  • Ann B. Davis's character's name, Schultzy, was a reference to her most famous role prior to "The Brady Bunch", that of Charmaine "Schultzy" Schultz, on TV's The Bob Cummings Show (aka, "Love That Bob!").

[edit] External links

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