A Very Brady Sequel is a 1996 comedy film and sequel to 1995’s The Brady Bunch Movie. Both films are parodies-homages of the classic 1969–1974 television sitcom The Brady Bunch. The film was directed by Arlene Sanford and stars Shelley Long and Gary Cole as Carol and Mike Brady. The film was a moderate box office success, although not as successful as The Brady Bunch Movie. A second sequel, the made-for-television The Brady Bunch in the White House aired in November 2002.
Plot
Following its predecessor, the film places the 1970s’ Brady Bunch family in a contemporary 1990s’ setting, where much of the humor is derived from the resulting culture clash and the utter lack of awareness the Bradys show toward their relatively unusual lifestyle.
One evening, a man claiming to be Carol Brady’s long-lost first husband, Roy Martin, shows up at the suburban Brady residence. The man is actually an impostor, named Trevor Thomas, and is there to steal the Bradys’ familiar horse statue which is actually a US$20 million ancient artifact. The Bradys, portrayed as naïve, believe Trevor’s story about suffering from amnesia and having plastic surgery after being injured. Throughout “Roy’s” stay at the Bradys’, he is openly hostile to them, his sarcasm and insults completely going over his hosts’ heads. Eventually, Trevor’s ruse is uncovered by Bobby and Cindy; in retaliation, Trevor kidnaps Carol and takes her and the artifact to a buyer in Hawaiʻi. The remaining Brady family travels to Hawaiʻi to save Carol and foil Trevor’s plans.
Besides the main storyline, the children have their own sub-plots in the film. Greg and Marcia both want to move out of their shared rooms, and when neither wants to back down, they have to share the attic together. When Roy’s arrival suggests that Carol and Mike might not be married, Greg and Marcia realize they might not be brother and sister anymore, leading to sexual tensions rising between them. Jan’s sub-plot involves her making up a pretend boyfriend named George Glass in order to make herself seem more popular. Peter, who is trying to decide what career path to choose, starts idolizing and emulating Roy. The youngest, Bobby and Cindy, start a “Detective Agency” hunting down Cindy’s missing doll, an act that unexpectedly leads them to discover Roy’s true intentions.
Cast
The film also features a variety of cameos, including RuPaul, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Rosie O’Donnell, Barbara Eden, David Spade (uncredited as the hairstylist), Richard Belzer and David Huddleston.
Of note, Tim Matheson and Gary Cole would later appear in the television series The West Wing; Matheson would play Jed Bartlet’s first Vice President and Cole would play his second Vice President. Tim Matheson played one of Henry Fonda’s sons in the 1968 film Yours, Mine and Ours, on which The Brady Bunch share several coincidental similarities.
References to The Brady Bunch
The film’s title is derived from the Brady Bunch TV movie A Very Brady Christmas.
In the scene where Roy ingests some hallucinogens while eating Alice's specially-prepared meal — she had discovered Roy had brought some exotic spices (which turned out to be drugs) and mixed it in her spaghetti to be served to Roy — includes clips from the Filmation cartoon The Brady Kids. The animated sequence, by Bob Peluce/Kurtz & Friends, features Oliver's rendition of "Good Morning Starshine" and includes the twin pandas and the magical bird from the cartoon series.
A plot point in the film centers around the sexual tensions between Greg and Marcia. This is a parallel to the real relationship of Barry Williams and Maureen McCormick (the original Greg and Marcia, respectively) during the television show's run.
Jan's sub-plot in the film where she makes up an imaginary boyfriend named "George Glass" after her crush on a classmate is not returned is taken from the similarly-themed Brady Bunch episode "The Not-So-Ugly Duckling." However in this film, Jan indeed manages to find a real boy named George Glass.
In the wedding scene, a dog is seen running through the crowd, followed by a small blonde boy. Bobby first calls out to the dog, saying in a confused tone, "Tiger?" The original television series featured a dog named Tiger in the earlier episodes, but the dog that portrayed him died early in the first season, so "Tiger" was phased out of the show and never mentioned again. Bobby also calls out to the blonde boy, calling him "Cousin Oliver". In the original television show's final season, a new character named Oliver was brought on in an attempt to boost interest.
The tiki that Roy runs over is the same bad luck tiki that was shown in the Hawaiian episodes, which Roy says, "Of all the bad luck."
An item at the auction was said to be donated by a Mrs. McCormick and Mrs. Plumb from their mother's collection, references to Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb, who originally played Marcia and Jan, respectively.
References to the 1970s
The film references two television contemporaries of The Brady Bunch. The first is Gilligan's Island, in which Dr. Whitehead says that his son, Gilligan, was lost on the S.S. Minnow with Carol's first husband, the Professor. Of note, in the actual Gilligan's Island, the Professor's name is Roy Hinkley, while in this film Carol's first husband's name is Roy Martin; however, original show canon states that the fate of Carol's previous marriage was never made clear, leaving the bridge between the two media up for debate.
Similarly, in the film's finale, Barbara Eden arrives, dressed in her I Dream of Jeannie costume, and announces that she is Mike Brady's wife. The theme music from I Dream of Jeannie can be heard, and Barbara Eden does the blink-and-nod gesture that was made famous by that show. This also served as an in-joke because Maureen McCormick, the original actress to play Marcia, was seen in a Season 1 episode of I Dream Of Jeannie.
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