The Brady Bunch in the White House

Rating:
Summary: Not Brady, not funny
Review: "The Brady Bunch in The White House" is like Chinese food that's been left on the counter overnight - unappetizing and best left in the box.

My husband and I loved the first two Brady Bunch movies so we couldn't wait to order "The Brady Bunch in The White House". We assumed it had also been a theatrical release. If we had known it was a made-for-TV movie, we never would have ordered it.

If we had watched it on TV, we would have commented on how terrible it was after the first fifteen minutes and turned the channel to watch a rerun of The Simpsons. However, we paid $20 for it so we watched every agonizingly horrible moment of it.

Obviously, this TV movie did not have the budget of the earlier theatrical releases ("The Brady Bunch Movie" and "A Very Brady Sequel") so they could not afford to hire decent writers, a decent director or a decent cast. The actors playing the kids were not recognizable as the Brady kids with the possible exception of the young woman playing Marcia although she was not nearly as skilled as Christine Taylor from the first two movies. The "girl" who played Jan looked to be well in her twenties, Cindy was too small and almost incomprehensible with her lisp. The other kids were at least as bad.

The actress playing Alice brought no "Alice-ness" to the role. Instead she was like a stranger in the family and a damned unfunny one at that.

I had hoped that Saul Rubineck would add some much needed humour to this insipid script but although he was more professional than most of the other actors that littered the screen, he was not given a single funny line. But then nobody else was either.

Besides the obvious problems with this movie - bad script, bad acting, bad direction and bad casting, the main reason this movie doesn't work is that in this movie the Brady's are a part of the modern world. In the first two films, the Brady's not only don't live in the modern world, they don't acknowledge that there IS a modern world. That's the joke. They left the joke out of this film.

The bottom line is this movie is a stinker. Skip it. Don't buy it. Don't rent it. Don't waste two hours watching it on TV.

Rating:
Summary: If I Could Rate It 0 Stars...
Review: ...well, you know that cliche.

I'm a HUUUUUUUGE Brady Bunch fan. I'll definitely be one of the people who buys Season 1 of the original series on release day, if Sherwood Schwartz and Paramount ever release it. Also, I thought the Brady films were HILARIOUS!!! Shelly Long and Gary Cole made great Mike and Carol Bradys, and the actors and actresses who played the Brady Kids were funny and memorable.

Sadly, this third entry into the Brady Movie 'trilogy' is horrible, at best. Gary Cole and Shelly Long have to work with weak dialogue, a lame storyline, and a supporting cast that you wished could have stayed locked away in the Presidential Bunker for a long time. I think the only non-veteran actor or actress in the film that went on to something successful was one of the girls at Marcia's slumber party, who's currently in that irritating McDonald's commercial with that guy who can't find his Happy Meal toy.

I'm surprised that this film was even allowed to be broadcast on TV, it was so wretched. It definitely ranks (pun intended) with other misfires, like the Variety Hour and The Bradys spinoff. What's really sad is that I think this also puts the final nail in the coffin of the 'anything Brady' nostalgia phase, which also included the Growing Up Brady movie. After this film, I wonder if any more Brady-related projects will be made.

Already Sherwood and Paramount - it's time to clean the palate with the release of Season 1 of the Brady Bunch TV series!!!!

Rating:
Summary: another awesome brady bunch
Review: I don't know what everybody else is saying about this movie but it is actually really good!!! i didn't really care for the new and improved characters because they did a fine job!!!!! i tthink every single brady bunch fan should buy this dvd!!!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointment Compared to the First Two
Review: I totally agree with "Barry" a previous reviewer who nailed this on the head. The original Carol and Mike Brady actors from the first two film saves this from sinking like a lead pipe. The girl who plays Marcia is good, Jan ok, but the other children are completely mis-cast. The actor who plays Greg acts and looks more like Peter. Peter and Bobby simply share no resemblance to the true characters and have few cameos because of it. I thought the first part of the movie was confused and strained. Better plots are available. Some of the original series plots are brought forth, but never really captitalized on, except for the "slumber party" which was well done. This attempts to be as funny and comedic as the first two films, but fall short in depth and cleverness. Fans will want to see it...but take my advice and rent.

Rating:
Summary: The Brady Worst
Review: The only reason I bought this DVD is b/c it was a Brady Bunch film and...came as a set with Growing Up which is an awesome movie.
Well,let me tell you this movie is just awful! I mean the actors couldn't been worst casted, Greg looks gay, Peter is fat, I think Bobby somewhat fits the original (Lookinland)
Marcia and Jan act so fake and Cindy looks like she is either a midget or she is four years younger than Bobby.
Alice is freaky, she doesn't resemble either Ann B. or the one from the 2 brady movies and her acting is just horrible, she is not cheesy...she is stupid
Mike and Carol are the dearest Gary Cole and Shelly Long, these two actors are good, they do resemble the original actors, I don't have any objections about them
The producers better think of making a new Brady movie b/c if they expect to have this film as the last one....The Bradys are dead!!
Don't buy it!!! for your own sake!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Last-ditch attempt to cash in on nostalgia
Review: The only reason why I gave this movie two stars is the idea that Mike Brady would make a great and scandal-free (Were the writers trying to imply something?) president. I actually have no disagreement on that point.

I have a big disagreement with how Mr. Brady finds himself in the White House. The Brady Bunch was built on a foundation of cheese, but their White House occupancy is a new level of absurdity.

We never see Mike getting elected or undergoing any of the constitutional procedures which people are supposed to go through on their way to becoming the president. Don't tell me that everybody in the government is either so unethical or mysteriously gone that a California architect has to save the country. An eight year old could easily see through this movie's script.

I usually like political movies of all types, but this one even had me instead longing for the dentist's chair. It looks like a red, white, and blue version of the ill-fated variety hour (which was made with the television cast).

Greedy entertainment executives were placing the 'Brady Bunch' image on a product without first wondering if the overall concept was reasonably consistent with the tone and image of the original series. Why didn't anybody at the studios remember that a majority of people would NOT watch something just because it had the 'Brady Bunch' name on it?

Making matters worse, this project has yet another cast playing the Brady's; they make the movie cast actually look authentic by their collective lack of acting skills.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Brady Disappointment
Review: There are some things in this world that refuse to die. Things that will stand the test of time. If the world was to end tomorrow, three things would still be here. Cockroaches, Cher, and the brood from Clinton Way. The Brady's. Our favorite ployester pests return in this made for TV movie that aired during Thanksgiving of 2002. The tele-film followed in the steps of the two recent big screen adventures, but the fun and hilariousness that made those two films, especially the first one, hysterical and endearing, did not cross over this hodepodge of a film. Bobby Brady finds a lottery ticket and takes it home. The ticket turns out to be the winning one with a grand prize of $67 million. But Mike, being Mike, refuses to keep it and tries to find the rightful owner. Because of his good deed, he is to meet the President. Through some situations, Mike becomes the President Of The United States himself and the first family of TV become the first family of the country. There were many chances here to do something, but the writers play it safe and the situation never rises to what it could of been. Speaking of writing, you know it is not going to be much when it is written by a Schwartz. Lloyd, that is. He tries to mimic the writing and feel of the spoofy big screen adaptions, but he never aces it. The writers of those films wrote it with a sure hand, but he just comes across as an old fashioned "Brady' writer trying to be hip and self aware. The only good thing this missfire has going for it is the return of Shelley Long and Gary Cole as Carol and Mike Brady. Their association with the project bring that level of hilarity and spark to the proceedings. The kids are not good. The kids are all new, and not that impressive. Jan and Marcia do okay, but the rest leave a lot to be desired. The actress playing Marcia has the uppity up persona of Marcia down pretty well, and has the right kind of 'tease' to her performance like Christine Taylor did in the movies, but she is still no equal. Jan had the mannerisms right, but it seemed too forced. The actor playing Greg isn't playing Greg. He's playing Christopher Daniel Barnes playing Greg Brady. And Alice. I don't know what they were thinking when they cast this actress to play Alice. You will know what I mean when you get a look at her. Veteran actor Saul Rubineck appears in the film as a White House aid with plans of his own, and why he agreed to do this film I have no idea. But most of all, it didn't feel right to be out of the Brady home. But that's just me. All in all, a very weak and disappointing effort in the Brady cannon. If this is the way it is now, then those good 'ol "Sunshine Days" may just be over for good.

Rating:
Summary: skip it
Review: Wow, this one was really bad. I didn't get to see it when it aired on TV and just got the DVD. I watched about three quarters of it and gave up. It is no where near as good as the two theatrical versions. Missing are actual Brady Bunch sub-plots that are written or reffered to throughout the movie. None of the kids really looked like any of the actual Bradys in either the two movies or the show- execpt for Marica, but she doesn't seem as genuine as Christine Taylor's version.

Gary Cole and Shelley Long are back, and that was the only reason I bought this movie. But the whole story about them in the white house is an unbelievably bad idea. The producers didn't even get the actress who played Alice to return, and her replacement isn't that great either.