A Very Brady Sequel ** (1996, Shelley Long, Gary Cole, Tim Matheson) – Classic Movie Review 10,339

Director Arlene Sandford’s harmless 1996 culture clash comedy sequel A Very Brady Sequel finds a hunky stranger (Tim Matheson) arriving on the scene at the suburban Brady residence, alleging that he is Carol Brady (Shelley Long)’s long-lost first husband, Roy Martin, apparently suffering from amnesia and having had plastic surgery after being injured. It turns out that he is a scheming impostor, up to no good.

Although a sequel really was not necessary, arguably this is quite a good follow-up. They have found a new story but it is in exactly the safe gently spoofy spirit as the original, and again what is on offer is laughter and simple fun at the expense of the 70s in the same mix of comedy that falls happily between remake, homage and parody of the old TV series. And again Long and Cole are spot on as mom and pop, Carol Brady and Mike Brady, in excellent comedy performances.

Also, although genial and warm rather than sharply satirical, it hits exactly the right note of campy, kitschy bewilderment, as the 1970s Brady Bunch family once more find themselves in a contemporary 1990s setting, showing no awareness to their weird lifestyle..

A Very Brady Sequel finds most of the game original film cast returning, and is amusing enough, though it is not as funny and was not nearly as popular as its 1995 hit predecessor, The Brady Bunch Movie. However it was still a box office success, costing $15 million and earning $21.4 million, and a second sequel, the made-for-TV feature The Brady Bunch in the White House, aired in November 2002.

Also in the cast are Henriette Mantel as Alice Nelson, Christopher Daniel Barnes as Greg Brady, Christine Taylor as Marcia Brady, Paul Sutera as Peter Brady, Jennifer Elise Cox as Jan Brady, Jesse Lee Soffer [Jesse Lee] as Bobby Brady, Olivia Hack as Cindy Brady, John Hillerman as Dr Whitehead, Whip Hubley, Whitney Rydbeck, Sue Casey, and Steven Gilborn, with cameos from RuPaul, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Rosie O’ Donnell, Barbara Eden, David Spade, and Richard Belzer.

The screenplay is by Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, James Berg and Stan Zimmerman.

RuPaul reprises his role as Mrs Cummings from the first film, Zsa Zsa Gabor appears as herself in her last screen role, Rosie O’ Donnell appears as herself, David Spade plays Sergio the Hair Stylist, and Barbara Eden reprises her role as Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie.

It is Arlene Sandford’s feature film directorial debut.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,339

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