The Brady Bunch Movie
The Brady Bunch Movie, 1995, USA
Dad: “So, did it pump you up?”
Me: “No…it creeped me out.”
My dad was amused when he saw that I was putting this movie in, and told me that I really was a “glutton for punishment”. Apparently he’s not a fan of the movie, because it’s “so sugary sweet it’ll give you diabetes”. I wasn’t a fan of the movie, either. It was bizarre and extremely creepy. I’ve read that the creepiness was intentional, as a shift in tone from the original TV show. But I felt pretty dirty by the end of the movie.
The movie is about the Brady family, a blended family headed by Mike (Gary Cole) and Carol Brady (Shelley Long). They receive a letter that tells them that their house will be put up for auction unless they come up with $20,000 by the end of the week. They don’t fret about it – instead they’re oddly cheery and optimistic about their dire situation. The six Brady children over hear their parents talking, and decide to help their parents raise the money to save their home. There is ongoing drama between Jan (Jennifer Elise Cox), the dreaded “middle child”, and Marcia (Christine Taylor), the beautiful, popular child. Jan is actually portrayed as being kind of crazy, and consumed with jealousy. She was definitely the creepiest of them all. The movie takes place in the 90s, but the family comes straight out of the 70s. Much of the humour comes from the massive culture clash between the entire Brady family, and everyone they encounter. It was very strange.
I never saw the original television series, so I was probably missing a few of the references. I was familiar with the concept of the show, and its reputation for being sickly sweet, so I was prepared for the movie. The creepy tone did amuse me at times and the movie did hold my attention, but ultimately, I don’t think I’d ever want to see it again. I also don’t think I’d ever watch the TV show. Now that I’ve seen the movie, I’d see every sickly sweet moment with a sexual undertone or completely evil. Is there anyone out there who was a fan of the original series? I’m curious to know what fans of the original series thought of the movie. Did the change in tone (a tone that mocked the original show) bother you? Or did it add a level of enjoyment?
Admittedly, I did laugh a number of times throughout the movie, mostly at scenes that made me feel ridiculously creeped out. The entire Brady family was cringe-worthy, and I wondered how anyone could have watched a TV show about this family. The movie was laced with irony, but if the TV show played it completely straight, I think it would have been even more intolerable, personally.
I have very few memories of this movie, save that it seemed to come out right when we were having a rash of “let’s debase pop culture idols from our past and make them all about sex and drugs,” and mostly stayed away from it for that reason. Of course, many of the original Brady Bunch actors have admitted they were high as a kite most of the time. So much for sweet and innocent.