It’s Christmas time in Southern California and Carol (Florence Henderson) and Mike Brady (Robert Reed) have decided that the best possible Christmas present is to see all of their kids together, under one roof, for the holidays. Along with the six kids, their significant others, and their children, Alice is back to celebrate Christmas as well. However, as everyone comes together, their plights and difficult livelihoods rise to the surface, leaving the Bradys to resolve those issues in typical Brady fashion. With a full house, Christmas 1988 is sure to be A Very Brady Christmas.
The Brady Bunch is one of the more iconic television shows of the 1970’s as it depicted the all-American family and provided its viewers some insight into how beautiful life and family can be. Here, nearly fifteen years after the show ended its run, A Very Brady Christmas reunites the beloved Bradys and their families for some Christmas cheer and Brady-esque shenanigans. I can remember, even at a young age, the famed characters were relatable, entertaining, and comical is the simplest of ways; capturing that same essence is the most pivotal aspect of A Very Brady Christmas. If the characters the millions of viewers had fallen in love with had changed even a little bit, it’s very possible that A Very Brady Christmas would fail and leave viewers disappointed. The writing of Sherwood Schwartz and Lloyd J. Schwartz meets expectations of fans of the Bradys as they successfully recreate the characters from the 70’s. Fans of the show are able to feel nostalgic and fall back in love with the characters all over again.
Like most other sitcoms, there comes a time in each and every episode (and their films) where things can get tense. The reality of the world that these characters live in ultimately rises to the surface and must be dealt with head on. As the numerous branches of the Brady family tree come together, the end of A Very Brady Christmas sees them each faced with the many unfortunate scenarios present throughout the film. As this moment is reached things come incredibly close to ruining the humorous nature of the film that existed up to this point. However, the wonderfully created dynamic of the Brady family--but more specifically Alice (Ann B. Davis) in this situation--shows viewers that there is always someone to lighten the mood and stop things from becoming too overwhelming. Again, that role goes to Alice, who, in the grand scheme of things is the outlier in A Very Brady Christmas.
A Very Brady Christmas, and all of its components, allows viewers to adore the Brady family once again. The role that this particular film plays in terms of the Bradys as a whole is simply to reacknowledge the genius of the 70’s television hit. Furthermore, everything rides on whether or not the actors are able to jump back into their roles and accurately portray characters like Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Greg (Barry Williams), and Cindy (Jennifer Runyon). When the actors are able to fall back into their roles without missing so much as a single beat, viewers are able to relive their younger days feeling a weight being lifted off of their shoulders as they feel like they are part of the Brady clan.
There are moments that feel cliché and corny, but that’s what made The Brady Bunch so relatable, because life can be that way sometimes. A Very Brady Christmas, in many ways, is just an extension of what people love about the show and the characters attached to it. From beginning to end, viewers are engulfed in a world of love, holiday cheer and Brady mischievousness.
Directed by Peter Baldwin. Written by Sherwood Schwartz & Lloyd J. Schwartz. Starring Florence Henderson, Robert Reed, Ann B. Davis, Maureen McCormick, Eve Plumb, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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