the brady bunch movie

The Brady Bunch Movie placed 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.

Plot

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 to see if they got their mail again; unknown to the Bradys, Mr. Dittmeyer has been stealing their mail. He is fully aware they are delinquent on their property taxes and have been threatened with foreclosure if they fail to meet a fast-looming deadline.

Cindy soon learns of Mr. Dittmeyer's plans and attempts to warn her parents, only for her to be admonished by her naïve parents for tattling. After all, they are more concerned with Peter's voice entering puberty and Jan hearing psychotic voices in her head crying "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!". Jan goes to the school counselor Mrs. Cummings (played by RuPaul), who 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 wig, but is still overshadowed by Marcia.

At school, Marcia has caught the eye of that 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 Charley 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 in the country, 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. At the dance, Greg does his "Johnny Bravo" impression and is heartily 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, particularly from the teachers present. Marcia arrives at the dance and apologizes to Charley, who forgives her and asks her to dance with him. Doug, seeing Marcia with Charley, becomes jealous and calls her a slut. Charley 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 Charley who punched him out and is flattered. Marcia and Charley leave the dance together, and Noreen is heartbroken (but soon comforted by another attractive girl). Charley takes Marcia home, who promptly gives him the thrill of a lifetime with a French kiss of her own.

Mr. Dittmeyer, knowing the Bradys have received their final notice for their past-due property taxes, attempts to sweeten his offer to Mike for the Brady property. Mike tells him no amount of money will convince his family to move. Cindy overhears the conversation and reveals her findings to her siblings. The Bradys hastily look for work to raise the needed funds by the deadline. Eventually, the kids audition for – and win a spot on – the TV talent series "Search for the Stars."

Things go from bad to worse. Mike loses a contract which was to front him a $20,000 advance at the architectural firm, thanks to Mr. Dittmeyer lying to a client about the allegedly substandard safety standards of Mike's buildings.

On the night before the Bradys have to move, Jan, having grown progressively more insecure about her place in the family, decides to run away. However, "Schultzy" (Ann B. Davis) picks her 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.

Oh, what a story they have to tell Grandma Brady (Florence Henderson) when she comes to visit.

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"

Cast

• Shelley Long .... Carol Brady
• Gary Cole .... Mike Brady
• Christine Taylor .... Marcia Brady
• Christopher Daniel Barnes .... Greg Brady
• Jennifer Elise Cox .... Jan Brady
• Paul Sutera .... Peter Brady
• Olivia Hack .... Cindy Brady
• Jesse Lee .... Bobby Brady
• Henriette Mantel .... Alice Nelson
• David Graf .... Sam Franklin
• Florence Henderson .... Grandma
• Jack Noseworthy .... Eric Dittmeyer
• Megan Ward .... Donna Leonard
• Jean Smart .... Mrs. Dena Dittmeyer
• Michael McKean .... Mr. Larry Dittmeyer
• Moriah Snyder .... Missy Dittmeyer
• Alanna Ubach .... Noreen
• Shane Conrad .... Doug Simpson
• Marissa Ribisi .... Holly
• R.D. Robb .... Charlie Anderson
• RuPaul .... Mrs. Cummings

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. Ann B. Davis' character's name was Schultzy. Schultzy was the name of the character that she played on the old Bob Cummings show, Love That Bob. The role originally offered to Florence Henderson caused her to publicly oppose the film until a rewrite occurred and a much better part was offered. Christopher Knight's part was severely shortened, originally running four minutes. Scenes featuring Mike Lookinland as Cop #3, Susan Olsen as a reporter for "The Daily Tattler", and Maureen McCormick as the Lemonade Lady were filmed but cut.

Trivia

• 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.

• 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.

• As he heads off to his business meeting, Carol Brady tells her husband, Mike, to "Go get 'em, Tiger", and then wonders to herself "Tiger, Tiger: what ever happened to that dog?" This is an in-joke referring to the Bradys' dog Tiger in the TV series who disappeared during season two with no explanation, while the dog house remained in the backyard through the subsequent seasons.

• 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.

• Roseanne Barr turned down a cameo as a neighbor.

• The Bradys win the "Search for the Stars" contest based on the decision of the three judges: Monkees Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones.

• 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.

• Several cast members from the series make appearances:
  • Barry Williams - as the record producer.
  • Ann B. Davis - truck driver
  • Christopher Knight - The coach, who says "Ditmeyer, do it and die".