A Very Brady Sequel (1996) review

Dir. Arlene Stanford

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★

After The Brady Bunch Movie was a surprisingly success in 1995, just a year later, A Very Brady Sequel was made, continuing the line of Brady Bunch movies that were paying homage to the original series, but also lampooning them by parodying their cheeriness and their persistent nice-ness.

In my original review of The Brady Bunch Movie, which I did in song (I also planned to do this one in song as well, but we all need to be serious sooner or later), I took the original Television show’s theme song and rewrote the lyrics to replicate my thoughts on the film. I said in the third verse, “And if one day I’m strick-en with cyni-cism. And you look onto this review as not groovy. You can go on to not trust me. After I enjoyed The Brady Bunch Movie.” I suppose the same line is valid in this review too. I’m not necessarily proud that I enjoyed both film adaptations, but there are times when we can not help what we liked. Again, from the first frame, I enjoyed the Brady’s overwhelming eccentricities.

The storyline is pure simplicity; the Brady’s are stuck in the seventies while the whole world has kindly shifted into the nineties, therefore, capturing the idea that the Brady’s, while timeless, are also pretty outdated. Mike Brady (reprised by Gary Cole) is contemplating what to give his darling gold-haired wife, Carol (Shelley Long) for their anniversary, but in the nick of time, a man claiming to be Carol’s first husband named Roy (Tim Matheson) shows up and tries to win Carol back. In reality, he’s a snaky con-man, searching for a statue of a marble horse.

While the family naively welcomes Roy back home, Greg is hasty about the whole thing, yet never questions if something is really behind this alleged miracle. It is never truly said, however, how Roy managed to know all there was to know about the family, but nevermind that small little detail. The subplots follow other Brady characters, as expected, such as Jan trying to boast to the family about her new boyfriend, “George Glass” (who is imaginary), Marcia and Peter possibly falling in love, and the family traveling to Hawaii in the latter half of the picture.

Again, much like the original film, the whole idea and premise is a little anarchic, but not to the point of utter senselessness. We do not get much in the area of outsider reactions, but we didn’t in the first one either, so perhaps it wasn’t the filmmaker’s prime intent. There are certain pictures we can not help but like, and The Brady Bunch films are two of mine. They’re silly, deranged, yet deeply, weirdly satisfying and self-aware – the best part of all.

My review of The Brady Bunch Movie
My review of The Brady Bunch in the White House

Starring: Gary Cole, Shelley Long, Tim Matheson, Henriette Mantel, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Christine Taylor, Paul Sutera, Jennifer Elise Cox, and Jesse Lee Soffer. Directed by: Arlene Stanford.