A Very Brady Sequel is a 1996 comedy film and sequel to 1995's The Brady Bunch Movie. The film was directed by Arlene Sanford (in her feature film directorial debut), starring Shelley Long and Gary Cole.
Plot[]
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
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 they show toward their relatively unusual lifestyle.
One evening, a man claiming to be Carol's long-lost first husband, Roy Martin shows up at the suburban Brady residence. He is actually a con man named Trevor Thomas and is there to steal their familiar horse statue that is actually a $20 million ancient artifact. They (portrayed as naïve) believe his story about suffering from amnesia and having plastic surgery after being injured.
Throughout Trevor's stay, he is openly hostile to them, his sarcasm and insults completely going over their heads. Eventually, Trevor's ruse is uncovered by Bobby and Cindy; in retaliation, he kidnaps Carol and takes her and the artifact to a buyer in Hawaii. The remaining Brady family travels to Hawaii to save her and foil his plans.
Besides the main storyline, the children have their own subplots 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 Trevor's arrival suggests that Carol and Mike might not be married, Greg and Marcia believe that they are technically not related. That leads them to realize they are in love with each other, but try to hide it from one another throughout the movie. Eventually both cave in and they share a kiss at the end of the movie.
Jan's subplot involves her making up a pretend boyfriend named George Glass in order to make herself seem more popular. She then meets a real boy named George Glass during the family's trip to Hawaii.
Peter, who is trying to decide what career path to choose, starts idolizing and emulating Trevor. Bobby and Cindy start a "Detective Agency" hunting down her missing doll, an act that inadvertently leads them to discover Trevor's true intentions.
Cast[]
- Gary Cole as Mike Brady
- Shelley Long as Carol Brady
- Christopher Daniel Barnes as Greg Brady
- Christine Taylor as Marcia Brady
- Paul Sutera as Peter Brady
- Jennifer Elise Cox as Jan Brady
- Jesse Lee as Bobby Brady
- Olivia Hack as Cindy Brady
- Henriette Mantel as Alice Nelson
- Tim Matheson as Roy Martin/Trevor Thomas
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 John Hillerman.
Production[]
The filming dates for "A Very Brady Sequel" began on January 16, 1996 and ended on 22 March 22, 1996. It was filmed in Los Angeles & Santa Monica, California and in Hawaii.
Box Office[]
"A Very Brady Sequel" peaked at #3 at the box office and grossed $7,052,045 during its opening weekend, debuting on 2,147 screens. Domestically, it grossed $21,440,752.
Critical Reception[]
"A Very Brady Sequel" received generally mixed reviews from film critics and it currently holds a 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The San Francisco Examiner's Barry Walters said, "Whereas the first film felt like the entire series condensed into a jam-packed hour-an-a-half, "Brady 2" comes across more like a l-o-n-g single episode."
Stacey Richter from the Tucson Weekly said the film "succeeds spectacularly by using every little insipid tic of the TV show and magnifying it just enough to be eerily reminiscent of the original, but still exaggerated enough to be funny."
Roger Ebert gave "A Very Brady Sequel" a three-in-a-half star rating, saying, "I did think this movie was better than the first one, though, and in a curious way I'm hoping there will be a third: I think they're getting somewhere."
Trailer[]
A Very Brady Sequel Trailer