Wordiezett So much average

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

fivefids I was a big fan of the Brady Bunch show when it was on and I was young and naive. I, just as most who watched it, knew it wasn't realistic. We knew it wasn't how most families interact etc. but we liked it just the same. When I watched this in 1988, I was disappointed. It was very well done but I guess the Brady Bunch, as many shows, was good only in its time so when reunions/updates are done, it does not have much impact - at least that's how I felt about this one. The best part was seeing (hearing) a Brady use the the word "hell!" Christopher Knight, as Peter, tells one of his siblings (I don't recall which) "That's a hell of a way to greet your brother" or something to that effect. Way to go Peter! That added some much needed realism to a show that even the most ardent fans will concede lacked realism. If I see it in my listings during the holiday season, I may check it out again but I did not care for it the first time so I doubt that will change.

dagandkate I just watched this awful awful movie again last night. The dysfunctionality of the clan, which was somewhat hidden, was in full force for viewing (dis)pleasure.Marcia's husband lost his job, and she just ignored his pain, and talked up her family christmas plans. Jan was a cruel bitch to her husband. Marcia's kid tormented Greg's kid, calling him the "slug". Greg not only allowed it, but didn't correct the brat. Jan and her husband reconcile in a cheesy way, with Carol Brady present, and she encourages them to be late for breakfast to have sex.Greg's wife works with him as his nurse.(how creepy is that by the way? A gynecologist who works with his wife as he examines women's privates is pretty ummm odd). Greg has shlepped to her family's house for christmas several years straight, but she refuses to go with him, so he and the kid go with out her.The classic moment in this movie is the Christmas tree scene. The "men" walk into the house carrying the tree, singing the first few lines of "Deck the Halls", the women, pick up in harmony, in time, and they perform a male/female duet. Even Peter's girlfriend, who had never been there before, knew when it was her turn to sing.To sum up, the writer has some deep seated issues with women. They are pretty much all terrible. At the end, Sam, who had been cheating around, offers a quick apology to Alice, she accepts, and 2 seconds later, Carol doesn't allow them time to reconnect, because it's time for another sing a long.This is a very very very bad movie. I watch it every year. I recommend it!

TVholic My family used to look forward to "The Brady Bunch" kicking off every Friday night (along with the rest of the ABC lineup; Must See TV, early 70s-style). Hundreds of thousands wished they could be part of this family. Who wouldn't want to be able to neatly solve their problems in 30 minutes with such understanding parents? Not to mention the memorable Hawaiian vacation episodes (a few Hawaii episodes were de rigueur for sitcoms of the era). While series star Robert Reed always chafed at the simplistic comic situations, it did manage to endear itself to the Me generation. After the original show left primetime, there were several abortive attempts to bring them back.Of the numerous variations on the Brady theme, this reunion was the most true to form. The "Brady Kids" cartoon was too, well, cartoonish, with a magical, talking crow and no parents to be seen. "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour" was a short-lived flop. "The Brady Brides" had its moments, but couldn't capture the spirit of the original, since it didn't include the entire cast. 1990's "The Bradys" became too serious, moving the house, paralyzing Bobby, turning Marcia into an alcoholic and Mike into a politician, not to mention losing Maureen McCormick. Those changes resulted in a 6 episode run, besting the 10 episodes of the Brides and the 8 of the Variety Hour to become the shortest-lived Brady show. The Brady Bunch theatrical films were a travesty, choosing to mock the original clan as inexplicably Munster-ish outcasts blissfully ignorant of their retrofreakishness.In my household, watching this is a holiday season tradition, the way "Miracle on 34th Street," "It's a Wonderful Life," "A Christmas Story" or "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer" is for others. After all, Christmas is the warm and fuzzy season and the Brady Bunch was nothing if not warm and fuzzy. When this was first broadcast, it was like seeing old friends again after a very long time, not unlike Schwartz' first successful TV show reunion, "Rescue from Gilligan's Island." Everybody had grown older, but nothing had really changed. Greg had married offscreen and both he and Marcia had kids, but that's about it. The house with its cavernous interior was thoroughly familiar and painstakingly recreated and updated. Only the driveway and backyard was missing. And the situations were classic. With roughly 100 minutes to fill, everybody got to have their own secrets and problems. True, the reunion sometimes verged on mawkishness, especially with the caroling, but that's part of the Brady charm. Only in the last 15 minutes did it drag, with Mike trapped in a construction site collapse.All of the original cast members were at just the right age. Robert Reed never seemed more paternal. The kids were still young, but no longer the cloying youngsters of endless reruns. The production also teemed with pretty ladies. Aside from Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, there was Greg's wife Nora, Peter's girlfriend Valerie, and Jennifer Runyon as a prettier, if blander, Cindy. Susan Olsen, the original Cindy, was on her honeymoon (she should have done the reunion, since that marriage ended in divorce). Also missing was Allan Melvin, the original Sam the butcher. Only Florence Henderson was a distraction, with almost Tammy Fay Bakkerish makeup and overplucked eyebrows.Now Schwartz is working on yet another Brady project where Mike is elected President. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Thanks, but I'll stick with this, the last vestige of old school Brady.

LUVJET This is a movie that is really only going to be tolerated by true "Brady" fans. We never really took them seriously as a family, but we loved watching them. The Brady's are, in deed, a non-existent family, but that makes them even more fun to watch- Escapism !!And now, the whole family (minus the original Cindy) is back together again in a less-groovy, updated surroundings, for a Christmas gathering, in Brady fashion. The whole house is full of Brady's and more Brady's (they've multiplied). Alice doesn't live here anymore, but she's got problems of her own and shows up at just the right moment- to help with Christmas dinner.A Very Brady Christmas is less than average t.v. fare if you were not a Brady fan. To those who watched faithfully every Friday night, you're gonna love seeing 'em in all their unbelievable camp, once again.