The big-screen version of the hugely popular 1970s television sitcom takes an original angle: instead of simply re-creating the old series, the film spoofs it by presenting the merged family as blithely unaware that fashions and customs have changed in the '90s. Shelley Long and Gary Cole are hilarious as the ultra-square yet libidinous Mr. and Mrs. Brady, Christopher Daniel Barnes is an ideal Greg, and Christine Taylor seems practically cloned from the original Marcia. But director Betty Thomas (Private Parts) shifts the emphasis away from comparisons between old and new Bradys and concentrates on quasi-surreal parodies and set pieces featuring the Brady kids doing their spirited, singing thing for a disbelieving public. Smart, sharp, and happy to share its conspiratorial mood with an appreciative audience, The Brady Bunch Movie is a kick. --Tom Keogh
2.
The popular 70s TV show makes a graceful transition to the big screen in this light-hearted feature that's part parody and part homage. The plot here (about a ruthless land developer who wants to buy the Brady home) is secondary to the playful juxtaposition of the Brady's era with our own. The film dotes on the peculiarities of 70s fashion and lingo with an almost religious fervor. The kids seem as lost in their wide-collared, pastel shirts as they do in their anachronistic moral universe. Marcia, for instance, is oblivious to the come-ons from a lesbian friend and she haughtily informs a date that she doesn't go to "third base." Several members of the original cast make cameo appearances.
3.
They're back to save America
Break out the double knits and roll out the Astroturf, because the Bunch is back in a groovy, good-time "romp for all ages" (Bonnie Churchill, National News Syndicate).
Mike (Gary Cole) and Carol (Shelley Long) have just one week to come up with $20,000 in back taxes or they'll lose their house to a scheming neighbor (Michael McKean). To make matters worse, Marcia gets a swollen nose on date night, Cindy's addicted to tattling, and Jan's hearing a psychotic inner voice crying "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!"
Of course, these are the Bradys, and when the kids enter a talent contest with a $20,000 purse...well, let's just say, "It's a Sunshine Day"!
With appearances by Florence Henderson, Barry Williams, Ann B. Davis, Christopher Knight, and dreamy ex-Monkee Davy Jones, The Brady Bunch is "an absolute laugh riot from beginning to end" (Barry Ze Van, Channel America).
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