A Very Brady Christmas

A Very Brady Christmas (1988)

** (out of 4)

Instead of going on a vacation to Greece, Carol and Mike Brady (Florence Henderson, Robert Reed) decide to instead invite the six kids and their families to a Christmas dinner. What the parents don't fully know is that all six are facing certain issues that will come out over the holiday. A VERY BRADY Christmas is a pretty silly and pretty stupid little picture but fans of the original TV show should still find it entertaining. I remember watching the show as a kid and enjoying it even though it certainly didn't represent any sort of real life that I knew. This film once again offers up the basic idea of the series, which is that everyone faces a problem but at the end the father will give a speech that makes everyone see things the correct way. I think the biggest thing working against the movie is that they just have so much to do in such little time and this makes for some pacing issues. We basically see Mike and Carol. We then are introduced to the six kids and their problems. Everyone comes together and one by one the problems are solved. There's certainly nothing ground-breaking here but it was still a fun way to get the original cast members to return (with the exception of Cindy) and fans should enjoy seeing them together. Both Henderson and Reed haven't missed a beat in their parts and the kids all do fine as well. Ann B. Davis, on the other hand, is pretty annoying here but this is certainly the fault of the screenplay more than anything else. A VERY BRADY Christmas isn't good enough to watch on a regular basis but it's still got enough bad charm that makes it worth watching just to see the cast members back in action.

To those who have watched the Brady Bunch...God! I can't believe it's been that long! If you have watched the series and are a full fledged Brady Bunch fan, then you will enjoy A Very Brady Christmas for your holiday movie viewing.

Shot on the original set, ...and with a few decorative updated changes, Mike and Carol are contemplating how to spend the holidays. And how would family oriented parents spend it---by inviting the whole family!! Of course, not all is perfect with Americas lovable family. Work Stress, tough life career decisions, and divorce loom in the air. But in true Brady and television fashion, all crisis are solved by the end of the episode. ....except one last very life threatening situation.

True, it IS a TV movie based on a TV series. The dialog is tin pan and the acting is grade B acting. But remember, A Very Brady Christmas is a Christmas story fantasy like Frosty The Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. The "miracle" ending is laughable but very heartwarming and memorable.

In other words, take it what it is. A Very Brady Christmas should be loved by fans. The Christmas message is that family is most important and possibly with their help we may fulfill our hopes and dreams.--or as Alice says "It's nice to have family" If you never seen the series, you may be dismayed by the sugary sweetness of the characters.

So take a Very Brady Christmas as it is....a family celebration of togetherness that may be sometime to sweet to take, but it goes down like an enjoyable Christmas pie!

The lack of a laugh track on this, even though it's a feature length movie, made it a LOT less enjoyable. As most here, I've seen every episode of the Brady Bunch and loved it! It was nice to see almost the entire cast back in action, but the plot and some characters **cough** Marcia's little butt hole kid, Mickey **cough** left a lot to be desired. Part of what made the Brady Bunch sitcom special was its lighthearted and comical approach to more complex problems in life, but the tone of this movie is kind of a downer. Sure, the ending ties everything together, but it has little of the charm that made the sitcom so enjoyable. I realize that the kids are adults and now have adult problems, but it was a jarring change of style and pace from what we are used to seeing.

Back to the lack of a laugh track; The movie relied heavily on quirky expressions by Alice and one liners from Carol and Mike that would normally result in thunderous laughter from the laugh track. Instead, we are treated with awkward silence and pause from the other cast members. This could be forgiven if it was once or twice, but it happened a lot. Definitely questioning Sherwood Schwarz' decision making on nixing the laugh track and making it so dramatic.

One final complaint. If you are going to make the movie dramatic, at least take the time to roll out the problems and allow for a little conflict to occur to spice it up. The films spends the first 30-45 minutes unloading all the problems of each kid and their respective spouse, which are interesting. The problem is that the problems are quickly and neatly solved with hardly any conflict, which was a bit boring. I think this could have been pretty good as a limited TV series so that the problems could be given a little more depth and character development.

I am more than likely over analyzing a made for TV movie which serves as nothing more than a reunion episode, BUT I really enjoyed the sitcom and was hoping for more from this.

No one ever claimed that the Brady's are award winning material, and that's fine with me. We don't watch the Bradys for mental stimulation, we watch them to make us feel like a kid again. Sure the plot is corny, the script is weak and the acting is as cheesy as ever, but isn't that what makes the Bradys special? No one can tell me that "Don't be sorry, just be Wally" isn't one of the greatest lines in Brady history. Those of you who choose to bash the Bradys should maybe chill out a little and realize that the Bradys have been around for over thirty years because loyal fans like me can appreciate the whole corny thing. I will continue to watch it every Christmas and I invite everyone else to as well. Long live the Bradys

Christmastime just isn't complete for me without watching this movie. The Brady family reuniting for the holidays always produces warm fuzzies for me. The original show was cheesy and so is this reunion movie, but it is also surprisingly well acted by every member of the ensemble cast and hits upon some real truths about family togetherness. Jennifer Runyon seamlessly fills the shoes of Susan Olsen in this yuletide gathering, Maureen McCormick is as beautiful as ever, and Florence Henderson is still the sunniest and most perky television mom around. A TV movie can get away with being sappy if it's focused around Christmas, and this movie succeeds on every level as a feel-good holiday reunion film.