Product Description

THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE brings the lovable family of the 1970’s into the modern world, to see how their good old-fashioned values pan out in the streets of Los Angeles. The Brady’s house still sparkles with the same orange and olive green furniture as the original show, but the surrounding area has changed drastically. Confronted by carjackers, new fashion trends and popular culture in general, the Brady’s remain perky and pleasant to the world around them. When their next-door neighbors try to buy the Brady’s home in an attempt to raze the neighborhood and develop a mini-mall, the Brady family must unite and find a solution.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10000 in DVD
• Brand: LONG,SHELLEY
• Released on: 2003-06-10
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .24 pounds
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
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

Customer Reviews

Great Movie - Disappointing DVD
I remember watching this movie in the theatres. The audience was packed and I LOVED every minute of it. Shelly Long made an outstanding Carol Brady, loving wife and doting mother to six (count 'em six) children. The movie captured the classic camp of the television show perfectly down to trademark episode storylines inter-woven into a bigger story. The real stand out actors though has to be Christine Taylor as Marcia and Jennifer Elise Cox as Jan. The dynamic duo really set the stage with not only their remarkable resemblance to the characters but the way they captured even the inflections of the blonde Brady girls. It was almost like being taken back to the series. And speaking of which, several original series cast members make cameo appearances in the film, such as Florence Henderson as Grandma Brady, Barry Williams as a music producer, Ann B. Davis as Shultzy (named as an homage to her character on the Bob Cummings Show), and Christopher Knight as the school coach. And you can't miss the ever talented Jean Smart or RuPaul as the drunk next door neighbor and school guidence counselor. The drawbacks of the DVD release though is that Paramount skimped on any bonus material. We are benefited with seeing the movie in crystal clear widescreen and in Dolby sound, but there are no behind-the-scenes clips added though such material was shown on television when the movie was just released. There are no character/actor bios. There are no photo stills. There are no Brady song montages. There isn't even a movie trailer of the movie itself. There is just simply nothing added to make this DVD as special as it could have been than just the movie standing alone. In my mind, the purpose of releasing a movie on DVD at all is to provide the audience with a higher level of product than you would recieve on a standard videotape. Because the movie wasn't released with any of these I have to grudgingly give the DVD a three out of five stars. Not because the movie isn't good, because it is. It's one of my favorites. No, I gave it three stars because companies such as Paramount and others like them really should know better. The word 'cheated' comes to mind.

Too funny for words!
I originally saw this movie on the big screen... as an adult who grew up watching The Brady Bunch when it was still a prime time show, I thought I would die laughing when I saw this. I could tell a number of the younger viewers in the theater did not understand a lot of the gags in the movie. The costuming is dead on (most of us of that age either dressed that way or had brothers and sisters who did). Christine Taylor, who plays the Marcia character is good, but the actress who plays Jan is hysterical (she's perfect! ). Shelly Long gets Florence Henderson's mannerisms and voice tone down so well - it's almost scary ("Oh Mike...") and Gary Cole deserves an award for being able to deliver those inane "Mike Brady" speeches with a straight face. This movie and it's sequel are great - complete with the Brady Kids song and dance numbers ("I think I'll go for a walk outside, now - the sunshine's calling my name...") but make more sense if you are very familiar with the series it parodies.

Groovy movie that is really happening in a far-out way!
When I first heard about the concept of this movie, I thought it was dumb-I liked the idea of a BB movie, especially since the previews looked great, but then I read I review about how the Bradys are in a "time warp" and the rest of the world is in the late 90's. When I saw the movie, all my fears were put to rest. In fact, some of the "culture clash" scenes of the Bradys interacting with the rest of the world were the funniest, such as McKean's character not understanding a word of what she's saying because of her lisp, an attempted car-jack "Well, this is a car. But my name's not Jack!" and Marcia's best female friend being a lesbian with a hopeless crush on her.

There's not really enough room to say enough good things about this movie, but here's some of them. First, the dead-on impressions are great, especially Alice, Jan, and Marcia, but Robert Reed is really the stand-out-he sounds more like Mike Brady than Mike Brady, and has his mannerisms down perfect. Lots of in-jokes and references that kids who didn't watch the show won't get but those of us like me that did will get: for instance, when Carol kisses Mike goodbye when he leaves for work, she says, "See ya later, Tiger! (pause) Tiger...Tiger...I wonder what ever happened to that dog?" the blackboard in the kitchen has "porkchops and applesauce" written on it, etc. They even manage to throw in a reference to Johnny Bravo. The period detail is great including the costumes. There's some little sexual innuendo thrown in, but it fits in with the movie and the characters perfectly-one of the funniest scenes is when Carol and Mike think they're alone, and she's sitting on his lap whispering what is probably something dirty in his ear, and he's saying "Uh-huh...You would...I see..." exactly like Mike Brady does when he's talking to someone on the phone. They include the popular Brady songs like "Sunshine Day" (always kind of grated on me, but they do a great version in a Sears store) and the horrible one that starts "Clowns never laughed before..." but "Keep On" is actually a pretty catchy one. They recreate many famous moments/plots from the show, such as Marcia's nose getting broken ("Oh! My nose!") to Jan's delight, potato sack races, Jan hating her new glasses, Bobby being the Safety Monitor at school, and plenty more. The plot (yes, it actually has one) involves the Brady family's efforts to save their beloved home from an evil land-developer. Highly recommended, even if you're not a Brady completist. Watch for the cameos from 4 original cast members-the best was the real Alice playing a truck driver (hmmm, always though Alice was a little butch) picking up hitch-hiking Jan who has run away from home.

Most importantly to me, though this is a parody, the moviemakers make fun of the show while still staying true to the spirit of it and the characters. All their naivete is actually sweet rather than annoying-Marcia wears hideous 70's clothes but carries herself like a princess, Greg wants to make friends with the car-jacker, assuming he must need a spare tire, Mike explains how he wouldn't sell his house for any price because he designed it himself with love. During one scene, Marcia and Jan go to a "Teen Model" tryout (Jan is instantly booted) and the photographer/agent tells her she needs to cut her hair, get breast implants, and lose some weight. She slaps, him horrified: "CUT MY HAIR? How dare you!" Greg's lines to pick up chicks (well, it seems like this is his only opening pickup line) is "Hey groovy chick. You look really happening in a far out way!" are actually endearing.

Everyone with a sense of humor and fun will probably like this movie, and those of us who grew up on the show will absolutely love it.