Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Very well executed

Sick Product of a Sick System

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

I have to admit that I am a sucker for "The Brady Bunch", although I was not a child of the 70's. I was born in 1982, and I became a fan the same way other people my age did: I caught up with the show on syndication. When I was 12 or 13, I would spend summers waiting in anticipation for 4:00 to roll around, which was when the show would come on TBS. I knew the show was entirely unrealistic and often times cheesy as heck. I still loved watching it, though. It remains a guilty pleasure.That said, fans of the Brady Bunch like me will love this movie for its familiarity. I can't say the same for people who aren't fans, and who don't know Marsha from Jan, or who wonder why anyone would name a dog Tiger. It's the same as when Siskel & Ebert gave "The Brady Bunch Movie" two thumbs down: it was clear they didn't get the inside jokes of the movie."Growing Up Brady" is a behind the scenes expose for lack of a better word. It was a made-for-TV movie based on the book of the same name written by Barry Williams, who stars as himself (older, not younger) and narrates part of the film. As far as made-for-TV movies go, this one is pretty good. It told a great story, and did in fact make me want to know more.I have not read the book yet, but something gives me the feeling that the book wasn't just about Williams' relationship with Maureen McCormack, who played Marsha on the show. From the beginning of the film, it is implied that Williams gets asked more about whether or not he had sex with McCormack than any other question. It's unfortunate, too, because if I ever met the guy in real life, I would have a lot of other questions for him about the show.Interestingly enough, the movie seemed to try to make the viewers care about the relationship between Williams and McCormick. Fortunately, that wasn't the only thing the movie covered. I loved the scene where the Brady brothers (or actors playing them) went around the Paramount set playing. It was especially cool when they stole props from the "Star Trek" set (even though the original series was actually canceled by the time "The Brady Bunch" made its debut, but no matter). It really was a relief for me to see that these kids were just as mischievous in real life as I was, and not as picture perfect as the sitcom made you believe.I also liked how the movie examined the Brady kids' relationship with Sherwood Schwartz, whose name appeared prominently in the credits but who many other Brady Bunch fans don't know too much about. I liked how the show's creator, played very well by Michael Tucker, served as more of a grandfather figure to the kids. I also liked the dichotomy of how Schwartz tried to be reasonable when cast members, particularly Robert "Mike Brady" Reed (played in this movie by Daniel Hugh Kelly) were difficult to work with. If the producers of this movie ditched the Greg-Marsha complex altogether, they still would have had a good movie with Schwartz alone trying to put the show together.Being a made-for-TV movie, this film was not without its faults. For instance, the kid who played the young Barry Williams (Adam Brody) acted well, but it's almost as if he stayed 13 from season 1 to season 5. Anyone who has seen part of each season knows that all the Brady kids grew up considerably over the five seasons, and virtually every teenager looks more noticeably different at 13 than he or she does at 18. Having different actors come in would have increased the realism, but I can understand if they didn't have the budget to do it.I also didn't understand the subplot where the young Barry Williams had a crush on Florence Henderson (Rebeccah Bush). I mean, it's understandable when he's 13, but five years later? Really? I read somewhere in a trivia book that Williams did actually go out to dinner with Henderson, which I always assumed was just a friendly gesture. The movie didn't mention the fact that when Henderson was on "The Brady Bunch", she had been married since 1956 (in a marriage that would last until 1985) and had already had four children of her own. The real life Williams had to have known that.I was also a bit let down by the girl who played Maureen McCormick (Kaley Cuoco). Maybe this is the Brady Bunch fan speaking, but although Cuoco is pretty, she had nothing on the real McCormack in terms of looks. Perhaps I've been spoiled by "The Brady Bunch Movie", where Christine Taylor looked (and still looks) identical to McCormick. Cuoco also wasn't very convincing as an actress, either. During crucial scenes, particularly when young Williams comes very close to sleeping with her, she just sounded bored and not very into her scene. A better McCormick could have been cast, and not just a Marsha lookalike.Last but not least, the movie's ending seemed too abrupt. I would have liked to have seen more about how Williams coped with having the show being canceled, what kind of contact he has with McCormick today, and what he thinks of the show right now. Was it good for his career, or bad? I mean, this information is probably covered in his book, but it would have been great to see that on film. I felt a bit let down that they left so much out, although it was great to see the real Sherwood Schwartz make a cameo in the end. It was almost as if the filmmakers forgot about the juicy gossip, and made a touching tribute in spite of themselves. I'd like to think so.

I picked this title up at the local Big Lots. I've heard about the book, was curious to read it, but figured I'd pick up the DVD for the "cliff's notes" version of it. Well, I'm happy to say that what I intended for cheap entertainment actually turned out to be one of the more engaging movies I've seen in quite a while.I was a Brady Bunch fan as a kid. Of course the show was canceled a couple of years before I was born, but it was (and still is) hard to miss reruns of Sherwood Schwartz shows like "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch." Like Barry, I was hot for Maureen McCormick (even though Cindy would've probably been more age-appropriate for me at the time.) I enjoyed each episode, even though some small part of my juvenile mind still knew that each plot was overly simplistic and...well...cheesy.Adam Brody does a decent job of playing Barry Williams here. He's extremely likable, though I suppose there wasn't much chance of seeing his bad side, since Barry wrote the novel on which this film is based. It's incredibly easy to empathize with him, and what red-blooded American male can't identify with the stars in Barry's eyes when he first lays eyes on gorgeous Maureen (played brilliantly by Kaley Cuoco)? It's important to remember that the story is told from Barry's perspective. People who are curious about the point of view of, say, Florence Henderson aren't going to get very much out of the film. Still, there's a great deal of peripheral information about the show that I learned from this movie that I didn't realize before, such as Bob Reed's distaste for the show in general, Eve and Chris's hook-up, and Barry's date with Florence. I appreciated that they explained the disappearance of Tiger, though I have heard different versions of the event. Watching the Brady boys running wild around the Paramount lot with the blessing of Sherwood Schwartz was priceless. (I hope they saved those Star Trek props!) It was also interesting to see the Brady set completely rebuilt to perfection (even including the horse statue at the foot of the stairs.) It was equally spooky to see the empty sound stage at the end of the movie where Barry meets "fake Maureen." (I've seen this mistake here more than once. Though she looks like Maureen, it's not really her, as you can tell by looking at the credits. Shame, that. It would've been refreshing to see the real one.) The best thing about the whole movie is the love story between two teenagers who were never destined to be together. The unrequited love between them is so palpable that it almost hurts to watch. One really has to marvel at the fact that so few people are able to distinguish actor from character and fact from fiction, such that Barry and Maureen--who are not actually brother and sister--couldn't publicly carry on a relationship without it making the tabloids. (Though, curiously, nobody seemed to care much when he took his mom--Florence--out to a swanky Hollywood watering hole.) Barry and Maureen are both cute and sweet together, but their maddening inability to "seal the deal" keeps the romantic tension at a fever pitch. And that final moment after season 5 when Maureen backs out of sleeping with Barry left me aching just as much as Barry. I found myself hearkening back to my own personal days of heartbreak while watching Barry's sorrow-filled pity party, even while he clumsily tried to score a pity-screw from Florence.After watching this movie, I was moved to learn more about each of the Bradys. It's inspiring to look around the internet and know that every one of these actors hold nothing but fond memories of the show and maintain close relationships with their co-stars. And while I know it hasn't happened yet--and isn't likely to, as both of them have married others--but I truly hope that someday, even if it's in an old-folks home, Barry and Maureen will still come full circle on their romance.Till then, I'll just have to wait. And we'll just have to see what Maureen's side of the story is when her tell-all is published later on this year.

Anyone old enough to remember the series has heard the stories. We know about "the date" and we know of Robert Reed's "secret" and of Barry's first love. To be effective, Growing Up Brady had to stick to what we know but not make it a weak, years-later rerun. And the creators succeeded. The first half-hour was terrific -- good lines, quick cuts, the use of Brady Bunch-like look and sound, a lot of innocent comedy and good fun but packed with nostalgia. The cut-ups by the boys on the sound stage, the one-on-ones between cast members. I concur with those who praise Michael Tucker and Daniel Hugh Kelly: A-1 acting jobs and in very tough roles. The kids were more wooden and Florence Henderson's role seemed to be for photographic but not plot purposes; we got no feel for her as a person. This movie could have been a real bomb job, either a weak bio or a rip of the show or the personalties; somehow, both were avoided. The creative forces here did their homework and turned out a winner, though I would add that the Greg-Marcia romance got a bit old.

If you LOVED the Brady Bunch then maybe you don't want to see this movie. What everyone thinks the Brady Bunch was like wasn't like that at all in real life. Barry Williams shows you what it's really like to grow up a "Brady". Overall, it was a good movie and made you say at the end: "So that's what really happened after the camera's stopped rolling!"