Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Of course it's an iconic TV show, and we ALL watched at one point. But watching as an adult it becomes obvious how timid the writers of "The Brady Bunch" really were. It's as if they were terrified that they might offend ONE viewer somewhere in the Bible Belt. Because of this, nothing of substance ever happens to the Brady family. They wasted so many opportunities to tackle important subjects like drug usage, teen sex, or even a subject like lying to your parents. Considering this was the 1970's, I believe this lack of reality, alienated a lot of viewers, who preferred more honest fare like "Welcome Back Kotter" and "All In the Family." This show actually comes across as a product of the 1950's, which wasn't an appealing thing to 70's audiences. Because of this, most of the episodes are frustrating and forgettable. The show does improve with each passing season, as the kids get older, and the writers are forced to create something more believable, as nobody would accept the idea that Marsha and Greg were sexless plastic dolls. Looking back, the most memorable episodes were the edgiest ones. The final episode, when Bobby becomes the pool hustler, actually got it right; still sweet, but something that actually approached "being cool" to anyone over the age of 10. And I was amazed recently, while watching old reruns, to come across an episode that I had NEVER seen before. The subject matter was "bullying." The episode had a very un-PC message; that the way to handle a bully is to knock his teeth loose! And Peter does just that while defending Cindy against an older boy. He is actually praised for doing it as well, and regarded as a hero. I'm sure that is the reason that they NEVER show that episode. All in all, watching the "Brady Bunch" remains a nice way to pass time..but it could have been a lot more.

If you think that you're a slave to your children, then get this.... On their honeymoon, Mike & Carol Brady were so lacking in any imagination (duh!) that (are you ready for this??) they actually brought all 6 of their demanding brats along with them (including Tiger, the dog, and Fluffy, the cat, too).... Sheesh! Spare me!! This very first episode (from Season One) about Mike & Carol's honeymoon, pretty much, set the pace and mood for what the viewer could expect from all of the episodes that followed.It really killed me how this show repeatedly tried to drive home the notion that even though these petty, little brats may have gotten up to some real devilish shenanigans, underneath it all, they were sweet, darling angels, through & through.I can't believe that this TV Sit-Com (which first aired in 1969) actually lasted for 5 seasons. Right from the very start one could clearly see that the script-writers lacked a whole lot of imagination. They seemed to be too intent on retaining the squeaky-clean wholesomeness of the entire Brady bunch at the expense of allowing even a few marginally risqué moments to sneak into the show's silly & predictable situations.Anyhow - The way I see it - You either like The Brady Bunch, or you don't. It's as simple as that.... (And, that is how they all became The Brady Bunch!)

Architect Mike Brady (Robert Reed) is a widower with three boys. Carol (Florence Henderson) is also a widower with three girls. They meet, fall in love, get married and all eight live together with increasingly predictable (and stupid) complications ensuring.OK--I loved this when I was 10 years old but I eventually grew up and realized what utter garbage this was. The stories are terrible, trite and annoying predictable, the acting sucks and you want all these kids dead (especaiily the incredibly annoying Cindy). Its sanitized view of what a family supposedly should be like has traumatized generations of kids who feel that the Bradys are normal and they're not because their family is NOTHING like the one on TV. (Of course no family that ever existed is like the Bradys but you don't know that when you're a kid) Henderson and Reed are good actors but no one could make those scripts work. The only good thing about this show is Ann B. Davis as Alice who managed to be very funny and likable but, all in all, this is a terrible show.

I think it's ironic as all get out that just when the anti-war movement was at its height and kids all over the nation were doing all kinds of experimentation with drugs that on television we managed to find solace in the gentle G-rated adventures of a blended family that was called The Brady Bunch.In true paternal style the man with the three boys named Brady wed the woman whose name I can't recall, but Florence Henderson and her girls became Bradys just like Robert Reed's boys. In fact it was hard to remember that they weren't biological Bradys.The anti-war movement, Civil Rights, gay rights (Stonewall happened the year of The Brady Bunch Debut) was something that was never mentioned on the show. Sports got into things occasionally, Joe Namath from football and Don Drysdale from baseball got some guest starring roles as themselves.The Bradys did dress in the latest fashion though. I do remember those bell bottoms that I wish I could get into now. Barry Williams as Greg Brady wore them with style. He was quite the teen heartthrob during the run of the show.The shows hearkened back to Leave It To Beaver with Robert Reed as the all knowing dad. You did get the feeling unlike Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley, Reed and Henderson did have a sex life. Some concession to the times.The shows were positively antiseptic. Barry Williams chasing after this that or the other girl, Cindy not being a tattle tale, Peter's voice changing, and the tag line that the show got known for, middle girl Jan's jealousy of older sister Marcia, with that cry of 'Marcia Marcia Marcia'.Later on it came out that all American dad Robert Reed was gay after of course he died of AIDS. In the community that was pretty well known, a friend of mine recalls meeting Reed at a gay bar in New York City during the Seventies. The cast and crew of The Brady Bunch knew it too, but as Barry Williams points out in his memoirs, they didn't care, he was accepted as an artist and a human being. That was a concession to Stonewall that we didn't know about until later.Blended families are still fodder for situation comedies like Step By Step and Life With Derek. Those have a bit more bite to them than the ever loving Bradys. Still those kids still looked real good and I did so like Barry Williams back in the day.