This is the movie version of Barry (Greg Brady) Williams's book which takes an affectionate look back at the '70s American TV show `The Brady Bunch'. Williams himself narrates and appears in the film which attempts to answer the question - `What was it like to be in The Brady Bunch?'
As a teenager living in the US for most of the seventies, I watched `The Brady Bunch' every Friday Night as it was required viewing (along with `The Partridge Family', `Room 222', `The Odd Couple' and `Love American Style'), and the joy of this film is that it still allows you to wallow in nostalgia when you see the occasional rerun of a Brady Bunch episode - the movie shatters no illusions, and makes comfortable, if unchallenging viewing.
Williams does not set out to denigrate his fellow performers, but I would like to know if Maureen (Marcia Brady) McCormick's recollections are similar to that of her on screen brother's. The film addresses certain rumours of the day (yes, Robert Reed was uncomfortable in his paternal role), it touches on teenage angst that would never have been allowed to be portrayed in the original series, and there is an insight, albeit limited, into what went on behind the scenes.
The movie covers the birth, life and death of `The Brady Bunch' (it lasted 5 seasons) and whilst some of the character portrayals take a while to get used to, Rebeccah Bush (Florence Henderson) and Kaley Cuoco (Maureen McCormick) are excellent, and using Scott Lookinland to play his father, Mike, was an inspired piece of casting as he looks uncannily like Bobby Brady from the original show.
If you were a fan of `The Brady Bunch' in the '70s, you'll enjoy this, but I suspect you'll have to read Barry William's book to get a deeper insight into life chez Brady.
As a teenager living in the US for most of the seventies, I watched `The Brady Bunch' every Friday Night as it was required viewing (along with `The Partridge Family', `Room 222', `The Odd Couple' and `Love American Style'), and the joy of this film is that it still allows you to wallow in nostalgia when you see the occasional rerun of a Brady Bunch episode - the movie shatters no illusions, and makes comfortable, if unchallenging viewing.
Williams does not set out to denigrate his fellow performers, but I would like to know if Maureen (Marcia Brady) McCormick's recollections are similar to that of her on screen brother's. The film addresses certain rumours of the day (yes, Robert Reed was uncomfortable in his paternal role), it touches on teenage angst that would never have been allowed to be portrayed in the original series, and there is an insight, albeit limited, into what went on behind the scenes.
The movie covers the birth, life and death of `The Brady Bunch' (it lasted 5 seasons) and whilst some of the character portrayals take a while to get used to, Rebeccah Bush (Florence Henderson) and Kaley Cuoco (Maureen McCormick) are excellent, and using Scott Lookinland to play his father, Mike, was an inspired piece of casting as he looks uncannily like Bobby Brady from the original show.
If you were a fan of `The Brady Bunch' in the '70s, you'll enjoy this, but I suspect you'll have to read Barry William's book to get a deeper insight into life chez Brady.