The Brady Bunch (film)

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They're back to save America from The '90s.

The Brady Bunch never reached the top 30 during its original network run, but earned a large following in syndication. In 1995, this fame led to the release of The Brady Bunch Movie, the first of three Affectionate Parody-films of the original sitcom. The Bradys have become a bunch of Disco Dans, engaging in 1970s fads and activities despite moving to the 1990s. This movie follows their efforts to raise $20,000 in order to save their home (and, by extension, their neighborhood) from a Corrupt Corporate Executive who wants to convert the area into a shopping mall.

A Very Brady Sequel followed The Brady Bunch Movie in 1996. Carol's first husband, Roy Martin, returns from a several-decade absence, and causes friction among the Brady household. Unbeknownst to the Brady Bunch, their visitor is actually a smuggler named Trevor Thomas, seeking to steal their horse statue for Dr. Whiteman, a rich man living in Hawaii.

Paramount Television and Fox hoped to continue the success of the two theatrical movies with a 2002 Made for TV Movie titled The Brady Bunch in the White House. In it, Mike Brady becomes President of the United States.

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Tropes used in The Brady Bunch (film) include:

The Brady Bunch Movie

• Alternate Character Interpretation: In this movie's universe, Jan developed her jealousy of Marcia out of mental instability.
• Better Than a Bare Bulb: The movie and its sequel absolutely love Lampshading and playing with the various Brady Bunch tropes.
• Big Damn Movie
• Call Back: Quite a few scenes and subplots reference iconic Brady Bunch episodes.
• Dawson Casting: Christine Taylor (Marcia), Jennifer Elise Cox (Jan), and Christopher Daniel Barnes (Greg) were all in their twenties when cast. Interestingly, Cox is actually older than Taylor in real life.
• Deconstruction: Played off how warped the Bradys looked in comparison to real life (specifically, the idealized early-Seventies Bradys against the grungy mid-Nineties Los Angeles) for all its worth.
• Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: After Jan runs away from home, Cindy becomes confused over whether or not she should "tattle" on her. When she asks her parents if she can tattle when something urgent is happening, they tell her to wait until the morning, so she blurts out, "But Jan could be dead by then!"
• Even the Girls Want Her: Marcia's friend Noreen lusts for her.
• Fake Static: Used by Mr. Dittmeyer while talking with his boss in the opening scene.
• The Film of the Series
• The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Marcia and Jan, big time.
• Here We Go Again: At the end of the movie, Jan (with help from her grandmother) manages to banish the inner demons that turned her against Marcia, but then Cindy develops a jealousy of Jan.
• "Mister Sandman" Sequence: Hey, folks, it's The Nineties!
• Opening Shout-Out:
  • While visiting Sears, The Brady Bunch and Alice use demo camcorders and monitors to form the squares seen in the show's opening and ending credits.
  • The ending of the movie shows the Bradys in their squares, engaging in miscellaneous gags (eg, Marcia simultaneously appearing in her spot and Jan's, Carol inviting Mike to go kinky with her and some vegetable oil).
    • The vegetable oil was itself a shout-out to Florence Henderson's "Wessonality" commercials.
• Rearrange the Song: The updated instrumental version just before the end credits.
• Remake Cameo: Florence Henderson, Christopher Knight, Ann B. Davis, Barry Williams, (in deleted scenes) Mike Lookinland, Maureen McCormick and Susan Olsen. Also, Davy Jones revisits his original episode appearence, and by extension, fellow Monkees Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz.
• Shopping Montage

Mike: "Put on your Sunday best, kids; we're going to Sears!"

• Small Name, Big Ego: Greg, who thinks he's a real ladies man, an all-star athlete and the next big rock star ... except that any self-respecting girl wants nothing to do with him except to tell him he's a geeky loser. Contrasted with the original Greg, who was truly one of the Big Men on Campus.
  • Additionally the movie Greg fully embraces "Johnny Bravo" – in the high school dance scene, where he is quickly booed offstage less than two bars into his song "Til There Was You" – whereas the TV Greg rejected the concept as a manufactured marketing gimmick that would also have eliminated his creative input. (Ironically, Barry Williams did later record an album of songs under the "Johnny Bravo" umbrella.)
• Traumatic Haircut: Jan dreams of giving one to Marcia. Unfortunately for Jan, Marcia still looks nice afterward.

A Very Brady Sequel

• Accidental Innuendo: Invoked on the writers' part when Greg asks some girls visiting the concession stand if they'd like a hot wiener.
  • Later, Cindy tells Mike that Marcia's "getting lei'd by those Hawaiian boys."
• Actor Allusion: Dr. Whiteman offers Trevor a macadamia nut, in reference to when actor John Hillerman was the spokesperson for Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts. In addition, it's not the first time Hillerman has been seen hanging around a Hawaiian mansion.
• And You Were There: Trevor says this after waking up from a Brady Kids-inspired hallucination.
• The Bus Came Back: Tiger and Cousin Oliver, two infamously short-lived Brady Bunch characters, appear very briefly at Mike and Carol's anniversary party.
• Call Back: Quite a few scenes and subplots reference iconic Brady Bunch episodes.
  • One scene Calls Back to Marcia's broken nose, which already received a Call Back in the first movie.
• Casting Gag: Tim Matheson, who played Roy/Trevor, previously played one of the children in Yours, Mine, and Ours, the movie that inspired The Brady Bunch.
• Casual Kink:

Greg: (thinking) Marcia looks great in those ropes.

• Contrived Coincidence:
  • In Hawaii, Jan just happens to meet a boy with the same name as her Imaginary Friend, and he miraculously falls in love with her back.
  • Also, Carol just happens to stumble upon Dr. Whiteman while running away from Trevor, and he just happens to have a son who disappeared on the exact same boat ride that took Roy Martin away from Carol.
• Cover Song: The new cast performs three songs from the original series: the theme song, "It's Time to Change" and "Good Time Music".
• Creative Closing Credits: Featuring animation inspired by The Brady Kids. (Doubles as a Call Back to Trevor's Mushroom Samba)
• Crossover Ship: In this movie's universe, Carol's original husband was Professor Roy Martin, and Mike's original wife was Jeannie.
• Double Entendre: After Mike assures the kids that the police will put Trevor away for "a long, long time," Carol teases, "I know where I'd like to put you away for a long, long time."
• Edited for Syndication: Some "family friendly" networks ... most recently (Nov 2011) the digital movie station This ... remove the mushroom scene, cutting directly to disheveled Roy waking up the next day, late for the auction.
• Evil Roy: Subverted slightly as 'Roy Martin' is an alias used by the bad guy.
• The Film of the Series
• Fish Out of Temporal Water: Lampshaded when Trevor calls them, "decade impaired."
• Fish Out of Water: Trevor, when in the Brady house.
• Flirty Stepsiblings: Greg and Marcia start growing romantically attracted, and finally kiss near the end of the film.
  • Real Life Writes the Plot: The original Greg Brady (Barry Williams) and Marcia Brady (Maureen McCormick) had a romance while working on the show
• Genre Savvy: After Dr. Whiteman and Carol tell Trevor about how Dr. Whiteman's son and Carol's husband happened to disappear on the same boat ride, Trevor raises the possibility that the people riding the boat got stuck on a deserted island.
• Have a Gay Old Time: Twice. First, when Carol's kidnapper rents a jeep, Carol wishes she could "be gay again", and comments that she would be if Marcia, Cindy, Jan and Alice were around. Later, the rental man asks Mike whether he knows his wife wants to be gay, so Mike exclaims that's what the entire Brady Bunch wants to be.
• Here We Go Again: At the end of the movie, Jeannie visits the Brady Bunch, claiming to be Mike's wife.
• Intoxication Ensues: After Alice makes and samples some spaghetti sauce with some hallucinogenic mushrooms she found in Trevor's bag, she becomes so high, she stuffs herself in the refrigerator, just to see if closing the door really does turn off the light.
• It's All My Fault: Each Brady, as well as Alice, and even Cindy's doll, blames himself or herself for letting Trevor kidnap Carol. Marcia doesn't blame herself, and instead thinks, "This is all Jan's fault."
• Line-of-Sight Name: How Jan comes up with the name of her "boyfriend", George Glass.
  • When she first sees the glass, it has some orange juice in it, so she claims to have a boyfriend named, "George Tropicana." She changes the last name after Carol asks, "Is he Cuban?"
• Logo Joke: The Paramount mountain fades into one of the mountains on the island where Roy and Trevor found the horse.
• Mushroom Samba: Doubles as a Shout-Out to The Brady Kids.

Roy/Trevor: "Oh,no...I'm tripping with the Bradys!"

• Ms. Fanservice: Marcia at the pool. And yes, it is Lampshaded.
• Never Trust a Trailer: Entertainment Weekly expressed disappointment at the fact the Brady Bunch did not spend as much time in Hawaii as the ads seemed to suggest..
• Notable Commercial Campaigns: Dr Whiteman's macadamia nuts and Carol's Aquanet references commercial campaigns featuring John Hillerman and Florence Henderson.
• Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo
• Plot Device: Remember that little horse statue sitting in the Brady Bunch's living room? Apparently, it's a valuable artifact.
• Product Placement:

Carol: Thank goodness I use Aquanet!

• Shopping Montage
• Shout-Out: An auctioneer alludes to Marcia's and Jan's original actresses, and also to one of the most iconic Brady episodes, as she thanks Mrs. McCormack and Mrs. Plumb for donating their mom's favorite vase.
  • Signs at the construction site are marked REED DESIGN, in honor of the original man named Brady.
• That Reminds Me of a Song: While Mike, Alice, and the Brady Kids fly a plane to Hawaii, Cindy asks if anyone knows how to feel better about Carol's kidnapping. Greg then pulls a guitar out of Hammerspace, and all the Brady Kids start dancing in the aisles, performing "Good Time Music."
• Throw the Dog a Bone: Jan acquiring a much longed-for boyfriend who's as awkward and dorky as she is. Plus, Marcia stops playing the bitchy older sister and is genuinely happy for her.
• Took a Level in Badass: Mike punches Trevor after rescuing Carol.
• The Unfavorite: Jan, to the extent where Marcia asks someone to kidnap her.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Peter's voice is squeaky again, after changing at the end of the last film (although to be fair, nothing other than the title, and Jan ditching her glasses in favor of contact lenses, says that this movie takes place after the first one).

The Brady Bunch in the White House

• Big Damn Movie: The Brady Bunch must save the world from an asteroid.
• Fish Out of Temporal Water: The Brady Bunch continue to engage in 1970s fads and activities despite moving to the 2000s.
• Karmic Jackpot: The Brady Bunch get invited to the White House as a reward for the strong honesty they practiced while helping someone find a winning Lottery Ticket.
• Lottery Ticket: Bobby's finding of a winning ticket kicks of "the story".