Die Brady Family

When I first heard about this film being in production, I was about as happy as you'd be if you heard about a giant meteorite heading to destroy the Earth! After all, despite the original show having a bit of a following, the show was completely saccharine and impossible for anyone other than kids to like. So why, oh why, would I want to see this?! Well, it turns out I was wrong--wrong because the film WAS good to watch and wrong because this was NOT the same Brady Bunch I remember from my youth.

So what was so right about this film? Well, first it was not a remake of the show, but a parody of it--the only way this could have worked. In this case, it's the same sort of Brady family BUT they are living exactly as they did in 1970--despite it being 1995. In other words, the clothes, the language, the actors and their spot-on impersonations of the originals (I particularly loved Gary Cole and the way he talked just like Mike Brady) and the music are all circa 1970--and everyone around the Brady family just stares at them in total disbelief. TO make things even better, there is a wonderful visit from Davy Jones as well as a wonderful plot involving Jan and hear jealousy of Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! As for the plot, this might be the biggest weakness. While it isn't bad, the film's theme of the evil neighbors and the Brady family losing their home never is as fun or interesting as the sequel--A VERY BRADY SEQUEL--and you MUST see this sequel. It is a hoot!

OK, I'm as fed up with the polyvinyl, well-scrubbed Brady family as anyone, so a spoof on the entire genre was most refreshing. But I think people who are not familiar with the series may take some pleasure in the 90's-steeped humor that's also present. Certainly not for everyone, but I can only rate a movie as I see it, and I was thoroughly amused (rating: 7/10).

Out of all the movies that have been made from old TV shows, this is perhaps the best. The plot is as thin as one you see on the show and. The dialogue is killer - when Marcia is insecure about her injured nose on a date, the guy reassures her, "its not your nose I'm after". Quite alot of the jokes are of the double-meaning style and most of them are very funny. Gary Cole takes the acting honors, as he is just as sincere are Robert Reed was. I was never the biggest fan of the show, but this movie made me wish I were. Also it was great seeing Davey Jones of the Monkees!

Shelley Long, Gary Cole, and Christine Taylor lead the cast to recreate the iconic 70s TV family. It's a stroke of genius to bring the gang into the 90s. They are a school of fish out of water. The storyline to raise $20,000 for back property taxes sounds so familiar.

Jennifer Elise Cox is especially funny as the head bopping insecure Jan suffering Middle Child Syndrome. "But Jan, you don't have any friends." Everybody in the family is funny. Some of the modern people overplay their characters. It's not really necessary. Most of them are better off playing the straight character to the family's wackiness. Although Alanna Ubach turns in one of the funnier characters as Marcia's pining best friend.

The 1970's family The Brady's find themselves in the 1990's but still with the same virtues we all know. However their next door neighbour is trying to get all the land around the area acquired to build a mall. He has been hiding their mail and causing them to build up $20K in unpaid taxes. The kids set about trying to raise the money to save the family home.

Reading the reviews shows me that people just don't get this film. I think this is a great example of what should happen when you remake a cheesy TV show from all our childhood's. The whole film is one big self-mocking joke about the values of the Brady's. The plot is not really important but it is a good summing up of the daft plots they had back then, however here it is just a device for the jokes.

The joke here is that we have a slightly modern spin on the family. We see them being all cheesy and full of morals even when surrounded by the dog eat dog world of LA in the nineties, but they are still the same. I find this funny and the moral lessons etc are all delivered tongue in cheek. The best bit of self mocking is the modern expansion of the characters – this thing is full of innuendoes and nice touches – like Jan hearing voices etc

The cast are all spot on. Long and Cole talk it straight but let their looks and glances tell a different story (Long is excellent), while the kids are all very very good. I'd never seen the show till after this so I didn't see any cameos or anything but really this isn't important.

This is great – you don't need to have seen the show. It's wonderfully self mocking and very very funny. Those who criticise it for not being serious or for being a joke just are getting it at all. Great fun!