THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE: 30th Anniversary

I grew up on a steady diet of old television and oldies music. Nick at Nite’s original programming, shows from the 1950s primarily, were burned in my brain: Mr. Ed, The Donna Reed Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, etc. There were a few ‘60s shows I watched, most especially the Adam West Batman, but even though I didn’t grow up watching The Brady Bunch, I was still a Nick at Nite fan in junior high school and an entire week was blocked out to celebrate the opening of The Brady Bunch Movie by airing not only the original Brady Bunch but is various sequels and spin-offs. I was baptized very quickly and have been a fan ever since.

I don’t exactly know why I settled in for this block of programming, except for a rather immediate crush on Marcia Brady. But that was enough. Even though the show itself is cringey (and even was when it first aired), there is something endearing about it and its message. These problems solved in 22 minutes, the importance of family, and—again—Marcia Brady. C’mon—I was 11!

After I watched the block of programming, I saw the film. Gary Cole, Shelley Long, and an outstanding cast of young actors (including Christine Taylor, who I grew up loving on Hey Dude!) rounded out a very, very funny movie indeed. Instead of updating the Bradys, director Betty Thomas and writers Laurice Elehwany, Rick Copp, and Bonnie & Terry Turner, decided to freeze the Bradys in the mid-70s version of themselves and pit them against a punk-infused, mid-‘90s setting where they didn’t belong. The result is a classic.

Dotted throughout are harkening-backs to famous episodes of the show itself as well as the sheer hilarity of their clash with the culture surrounding them. In the film, Mike and his family are the only hold-outs in their neighborhood who will not sell their house so their neighbor Mr. Dittmeyer (Michael McKean) can make millions. In addition, four original cast members appeared in the film as well as members of the Monkees and, in a hysterical cameo, Davy Jones, who had played himself in the original series.

This year, The Brady Bunch Movie (which itself spawned two sequels, one for television, turns 30, but it doesn’t make me feel old. I’m sure my VHS copy is worn out somewhere, but this last Christmas, my present to myself was The Brady-est Brady Bunch TV & Movie Collection, perhaps the biggest DVD set I have aside from a beautiful 70^th anniversary box of The Wizard of Oz. All three four series, two movies, three made-for-TV movies, and, yes,...

I have a problem.