''A Very Brady Sequel'' is a 1996 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Arlene Sanford Arlene Sanford is an American film and television director. Sanford has directed for several notable television series and several motion picture and television films which include ''A Very Brady Sequel'' (1996), '' I'll Be Home for Christmas ...

(in her feature film directorial debut), with a screenplay by Harry Elfont,

Deborah Kaplan Deborah Kaplan (born November 11, 1970) is an American screenwriter and film director. Early life Deborah Kaplan was born and raised in Abington, Pennsylvania. Born to Susan Kaplan. She went to Abington Senior High School, which is the schoo ...

James Berg James Berg is an American television producer and writer. He has written for many television series including '' The Golden Girls'', ''Roseanne'' and ''Gilmore Girls'' and the 1996 feature film ''A Very Brady Sequel''. He has frequently collaborat ...

and

Stan Zimmerman Stan Zimmerman is an American television producer, director and screenwriter. Zimmerman has written for many television series including ''The Golden Girls'', ''Roseanne'' and ''Gilmore Girls'' and the 1996 feature film '' A Very Brady Sequel''. ...

, and starring

Shelley Long Shelley Lee Long (born August 23, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. Long portrayed Diane Chambers on the hit sitcom ''Cheers'' and received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Seri ...

Gary Cole Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American television, film and voice actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he has had starring roles in the ...

and

Tim Matheson Tim Matheson (born Timothy Lewis Matthieson; December 31, 1947) is an American actor and director. Some of his best-known acting roles include the title character of the 1960s animated '' Jonny Quest'' TV series, Eric "Otter" Stratton in the 19 ...

. It also features cameos from

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series '' RuPaul's Drag Race ...

Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor (, ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were actresses Eva and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the 1933 Miss Hungary pageant, where she ...

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...

, David Spade, and Richard Belzer.

Sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to '' The Brady Bunch Movie'' (1995), it followed its predecessor by placing 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. ''A Very Brady Sequel'' was released on August 23, 1996. The film received mixed reviews and earned less than half of what ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' did at the

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fre ...

. A second sequel, the made-for-television feature '' The Brady Bunch in the White House'', aired in November 2002.

Plot

One seemingly typical evening, at the Brady house, a man claiming to be Carol's long-lost first husband, Roy Martin, shows up at the suburban Brady residence. The Bradys believe his story about suffering from amnesia and having plastic surgery after being injured. Mike has been planning a second wedding/renewal of vows for himself and Carol, for an anniversary present without her knowing, although Roy's arrival throws a monkey wrench into things. Throughout Roy's stay, he is openly hostile to them, his sarcasm and insults completely going over their heads. Peter, who is trying to decide what career path to choose, starts idolizing and emulating Roy, which frequently gets him in trouble at the architect firm where Mike works. Peter later mentions Roy talking about "the big house", and Mike learns it means prison, making him suspicious. 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 Roy's arrival suggests that Carol and Mike might not be married, Greg and Marcia believe that they are technically not related. This leads them to realize they are in love with each other, but try to hide it from one another throughout their time together. Bobby and Cindy start a "Detective Agency" hunting down her missing doll and upon finding it, they stumble upon a photo revealing Roy's true intentions. He is actually a con man named Trevor Thomas and is there to steal a familiar horse statue that is actually a $20 million dollar ancient artifact. The kids reveal to Carol his plans, and confront Trevor, who, in turn, kidnaps Carol and takes her hostage to Hawaii, where he plans to sell the artifact to Dr. Whitehead, a buyer in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. He also ties up the kids and Alice to keep them from intervening. Mike, who's now fully aware of Trevor's deception, having gone to the police with his suspicions, frees them, and the family flies to Hawaii to save Carol and foil Trevor's plans. In Hawaii, Carol escapes from Trevor's clutches, and manages to find her way to Dr. Whitehead's estate before Trevor gets there. It turns out, Trevor was responsible for the boating accident that led to the disappearance of Dr. Whitehead's son

Gilligan Gilligan is a fictional character played by Bob Denver on the 1960s TV show ''Gilligan's Island'' and its many sequels. Gilligan, affectionately called "little buddy" by the "Skipper", is the bumbling, dimwitted, accident-prone first mate of th ...

and Carol's first husband, a professor. In Dr. Whitehead's words, "The Minnow is lost", and he refuses to pay Trevor for the horse. Trevor attempts to hold Dr. Whitehead and Carol at gunpoint for payment, but Mike and the family arrive just in time to intervene, and, after a brief scuffle between the two men, in which Mike quickly gains the upper hand, Trevor is arrested and taken to jail. Dr. Whitehead offers to pay the Bradys the $20 million dollars for the horse, but Mike declines the offer, claiming it's a symbol of their togetherness. Cindy gives him her doll, to console him, as she's outgrown it, after almost losing her mother. Jan, who made up a pretend boyfriend named George Glass in order to make herself seem more popular, meets a real boy named George Glass during the family's trip to Hawaii, and they become a couple. As Mike and Carol renew their vows in a ceremony held at their home, Marcia agrees to let Greg have the attic to himself, until he goes to college, and the two share one last on-screen kiss, before returning to being brother and sister. The movie ends with Carol tossing the bouquet, and a genie named Jeannie arriving just in time to catch it. She then claims to be Mike Brady's first wife, much to Mike and Carol's dismay.

Cast

as Mike Brady *

Carol Brady File:The Brady Bunch.jpg, 300px, Characters of ''The Brady Bunch'' (Mouse over to identify) rect 0 0 105 79 Marcia Brady rect 108 0 211 79 Carol Brady rect 216 0 320 79 Greg Brady rect 0 82 105 159 Jan Brady rect 108 82 211 1 ...

Henriette Mantel Henriette Mantel is an American writer, actress, producer, director, and stand-up comic from Vermont. Biography She was born and raised in Newfane, Vermont In the late 1970s, she spent two years in Washington, D.C., working with political acti ...

Alice Nelson File:The Brady Bunch.jpg, 300px, Characters of ''The Brady Bunch'' (Mouse over to identify) rect 0 0 105 79 Marcia Brady rect 108 0 211 79 Carol Brady rect 216 0 320 79 Greg Brady rect 0 82 105 159 Jan Brady rect 108 82 211 159 ...

* Christopher Daniel Barnes as Greg Brady *

Christine Taylor Christine Joan Taylor Stiller (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for playing Marcia Brady in ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' and ''A Very Brady Sequel'', as well as roles in films like '' The Craft'', '' The Wedding Singer'', '' ...

as Marcia Brady * Paul Sutera as Peter Brady * Jennifer Elise Cox as

Jan Brady File:The Brady Bunch.jpg, 300px, Characters of ''The Brady Bunch'' (Mouse over to identify) rect 0 0 105 79 Marcia Brady rect 108 0 211 79 Carol Brady rect 216 0 320 79 Greg Brady rect 0 82 105 159 Jan Brady rect 108 82 211 15 ...

* Jesse Lee as Bobby Brady * Olivia Hack as Cindy Brady *

as Roy Martin/Trevor Thomas *

John Hillerman John Benedict Hillerman (December 20, 1932 – November 9, 2017) was an American actor best known for his starring role as Jonathan Quayle Higgins III on the television series '' Magnum, P.I.'' that aired from 1980 to 1988. For his role as ...

as Dr. Whitehead * Brian Van Holt as Warren Mulaney The film featured

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

s from

(reprising his role as Mrs. Cummings from the first film),

(in her last screen role),

(reprising her role as Jeannie from ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually mar ...

''), David Spade, and Richard Belzer.

Release

Box office

''A Very Brady Sequel'' was released in theaters on August 23, 1996. The film grossed $7.1 million on its opening weekend, debuting on 2,147 screens. While some critics preferred this sequel to its predecessor the film performed half as well at the box office, whereas its predecessor grossed $46 million domestically. Gross sales are estimated at $21.4 million.

Home media

''A Very Brady Sequel'' was released by Paramount Home Video on VHS on February 11, 1997. It was released on DVD June 10, 2003 and April 25, 2017. The film has also been released digitally on

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from film critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

it has a score of 56% based on reviews from 36 critics.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

judged that while it was not an outstanding film, it was noticeably better than its predecessor. He elaborated that it addressed his chief criticism of the original by showing more of the contemporary world the Bradys live in and finding humor in the contrast between their innocence and the dangers of the world around them. He gave it two and a half stars.

Mick LaSalle Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broad ...

of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

'' instead found it not as fresh as the original, opining that while the subplots with the Brady children are bold and funny, the main plot failed to exploit its comedic possibilities. He still found it overall enjoyable enough to satisfy those who liked the first film, and commented that "As a satire of a sitcom that wasn't funny, it's often at its funniest when it's purposely stale."

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Very Brady Sequel 1996 films 1996 comedy films American comedy films American films with live action and animation American sequel films Films about hostage takings Films about identity theft Films about kidnapping Films about theft Films based on television series Films directed by Arlene Sanford Films set in Hawaii Films set in the 1990s Films shot in Honolulu Paramount Pictures films The Brady Bunch films The Ladd Company films 1996 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films