Date: Fri 01-Sep-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-10

Quick Words:

Brady-Bunch-Playing-Long-Cole

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Mandatory Viewing For `Brady'-Boomers

By Trey Paul Alexander III

In late May, when The Brady Bunch Movie was playing at the Edmond Town Hall

Theatre, this column ran an interview I conducted with Susan Olsen, who will

forever be immortalized in pop culture consciousness as Cindy Brady. The

former Youngest One in Curls voiced her approval of the film, which has not

yet been reviewed here. Well, The Brady Bunch Movie is now one of the top five

rentals in video stores across the country... what better time to do a

critique?

The Brady Bunch Movie is an enjoyable, sometime uproarious, comedy that tells

the story of a lovely lady who was... well, you know the theme song. The

perfunctory plot is a take-off of some of the series' popular conceits - the

Brady home is in jeopardy unless Mike (Gary Cole), father Brady, can notch a

new account at his architecture firm. To aid dear old dad and the family

cause, the Brady blood embarks on a number of schemes - not the least of which

is entering a talent contest - to help garner funds to save the beloved house.

Just as this storyline is a composite of typical scripts from the 70s show,

the movie itself is a clever amalgam of the series' greatest hits, so to

speak. What "Brady Bunch" treatment would be complete without the vaunted

potato sack races, the memorable football throw that smacks Marcia's face and

leaves her nose swollen, the Brady kids' glittering, cornily choreographed

musical performances, and many other such instances? They're all here, and the

movie has loads of fun re-creating those moments with precise detail - viewers

of the series will revel in the nostalgia evoked by these sequences.

The feature film's main premise is this: What would happen if the Bradys were

transplanted to the modern-day 90s? Although the Brady clan is revived to life

with hardly any tinkerings, the world around them - which includes

car-jackings, lesbian schoolmates, and a leering, sex-starved neighbor - is

undeniably contemporary. Thus, the cleverly-written script makes for more than

just a retread of the series; it is a balance between tribute and satire. But

truth be told, the scales are much more on the tribute side.

Although several of the original "Brady Bunch" cast members appear in cameo

roles, all of the main parts are filled by a new cast, which aside from

veterans Cole and Shelly Long (as Carol Brady), is made up of new faces. Each

of the performers does a capable job with the material, but two particular

standouts are Jennifer Elise Cox (as Jan Brady) and Cole.

One of the amazing things about Cole's performance is how he convincingly

conjures up images of Robert Reed's performance without really looking like

him. Mike Brady's incessant moralizing - "Now, Cindy, nobody likes a

tattle-tale" - is brought wonderfully to life by Cole, who perfectly mimics

the rhythms of Reed's speech patterns. This is especially impressive because

Mike Brady's paternal proverbs, and his manner of delivery, are not the first

things to come to mind when one thinks of "The Brady Bunch." But the minute

Cole goes into any of his true diatribes, it is instantly recognizable to all

former viewers of the television show.

The other special member of the cast is Cox, who does great work as Jan Brady.

Without a doubt, she also gets the film's best material; the writers decided

to get especially witty with her character, the put-upon, insecure middle

child. The TV series often weaved stories around Jan's jealousy of older

sister Marcia, but the film takes this to a hilarious Nth degree. With Cox

gleefully exclaiming Jan's mantra of "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!," the writers go

on to add the film's most ingenious addition to the "Brady" tale - Jan has

debates with an inner voice that constantly eggs her on in a battle to regain

the attention that always seems to go on to other family members.

The Brady Bunch Movie is rated PG-13 for some profanity, but mainly for sexual

suggestiveness and innuendo. The film is a smart adaptation of the 70s TV

show, and although it leans a little too heavily on sexual references and racy

subtext, should be mandatory viewing for anyone who watched the original

series while growing up.