Michael_Elliott A Very Brady Christmas (1988) ** (out of 4) Instead of going on a vacation to Greece, Carol and Mike Brady (Florence Henderson, Robert Reed) decide to instead invite the six kids and their families to a Christmas dinner. What the parents don't fully know is that all six are facing certain issues that will come out over the holiday. A VERY BRADY Christmas is a pretty silly and pretty stupid little picture but fans of the original TV show should still find it entertaining. I remember watching the show as a kid and enjoying it even though it certainly didn't represent any sort of real life that I knew. This film once again offers up the basic idea of the series, which is that everyone faces a problem but at the end the father will give a speech that makes everyone see things the correct way. I think the biggest thing working against the movie is that they just have so much to do in such little time and this makes for some pacing issues. We basically see Mike and Carol. We then are introduced to the six kids and their problems. Everyone comes together and one by one the problems are solved. There's certainly nothing ground-breaking here but it was still a fun way to get the original cast members to return (with the exception of Cindy) and fans should enjoy seeing them together. Both Henderson and Reed haven't missed a beat in their parts and the kids all do fine as well. Ann B. Davis, on the other hand, is pretty annoying here but this is certainly the fault of the screenplay more than anything else. A VERY BRADY Christmas isn't good enough to watch on a regular basis but it's still got enough bad charm that makes it worth watching just to see the cast members back in action.

jeurorotten Well, what can this guy say? Like many, I grew up watching 'The Brady Bunch' and while, yes, it was/is cheesy - as we all know - I loved it.Many of the reviews posted here say it all. But I'll add my two cents anyhow...Marcia Brady - 'Sigh' - THE Marcia Brady, gorgeous Brady girl #1 who occupied the upper left hand photo box in the series opening credits. Marcia Brady - cheerleader at both Filmore Junior High and Westdale High, the girl who beat Greg at their Brady organized driving tests, the girl who did the sexy hula dance during the Brady's 3 part Hawaiian vacation. Marica Brady - every guy's dream date, a girl who could flip her alluring Breck shampooed long blonde hair and win any guy.......ended up marrying that loser WALLY??? Puh-LEASE! What in the heck were the writers thinking....or smoking?Note: Maureen looked HOT in this TV movie. And then we have...........Jan. Yes, poor neurotic, borderline manic depressive/personality disorder afflicted Jan ("But, Glasses will make me look positively GOOFY!" - Yes, sweety, they did) with the OH SO serious sense of low self esteem (watch any episode of the original series and see this morose gal in action. Remember when, jealous of Marcia, in episodes 1-116, she hid all of Marcia's awards and trophies?) is even MORE so in this movie! Add in frigid, bitchy, and a short cropped hairdo that only amplified her scowling look, and whaddya got? Ya got Jan Brady - 1990's style. And it ain't a pretty sight.Aye yi yi. BAD TV reunion movie. Two thumbs (my own) down.Heheheheheh....but I still watch it.

sj1840 Christmastime just isn't complete for me without watching this movie. The Brady family reuniting for the holidays always produces warm fuzzies for me. The original show was cheesy and so is this reunion movie, but it is also surprisingly well acted by every member of the ensemble cast and hits upon some real truths about family togetherness. Jennifer Runyon seamlessly fills the shoes of Susan Olsen in this yuletide gathering, Maureen McCormick is as beautiful as ever, and Florence Henderson is still the sunniest and most perky television mom around. A TV movie can get away with being sappy if it's focused around Christmas, and this movie succeeds on every level as a feel-good holiday reunion film.

TVholic My family used to look forward to "The Brady Bunch" kicking off every Friday night (along with the rest of the ABC lineup; Must See TV, early 70s-style). Hundreds of thousands wished they could be part of this family. Who wouldn't want to be able to neatly solve their problems in 30 minutes with such understanding parents? Not to mention the memorable Hawaiian vacation episodes (a few Hawaii episodes were de rigueur for sitcoms of the era). While series star Robert Reed always chafed at the simplistic comic situations, it did manage to endear itself to the Me generation. After the original show left primetime, there were several abortive attempts to bring them back.Of the numerous variations on the Brady theme, this reunion was the most true to form. The "Brady Kids" cartoon was too, well, cartoonish, with a magical, talking crow and no parents to be seen. "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour" was a short-lived flop. "The Brady Brides" had its moments, but couldn't capture the spirit of the original, since it didn't include the entire cast. 1990's "The Bradys" became too serious, moving the house, paralyzing Bobby, turning Marcia into an alcoholic and Mike into a politician, not to mention losing Maureen McCormick. Those changes resulted in a 6 episode run, besting the 10 episodes of the Brides and the 8 of the Variety Hour to become the shortest-lived Brady show. The Brady Bunch theatrical films were a travesty, choosing to mock the original clan as inexplicably Munster-ish outcasts blissfully ignorant of their retrofreakishness.In my household, watching this is a holiday season tradition, the way "Miracle on 34th Street," "It's a Wonderful Life," "A Christmas Story" or "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer" is for others. After all, Christmas is the warm and fuzzy season and the Brady Bunch was nothing if not warm and fuzzy. When this was first broadcast, it was like seeing old friends again after a very long time, not unlike Schwartz' first successful TV show reunion, "Rescue from Gilligan's Island." Everybody had grown older, but nothing had really changed. Greg had married offscreen and both he and Marcia had kids, but that's about it. The house with its cavernous interior was thoroughly familiar and painstakingly recreated and updated. Only the driveway and backyard was missing. And the situations were classic. With roughly 100 minutes to fill, everybody got to have their own secrets and problems. True, the reunion sometimes verged on mawkishness, especially with the caroling, but that's part of the Brady charm. Only in the last 15 minutes did it drag, with Mike trapped in a construction site collapse.All of the original cast members were at just the right age. Robert Reed never seemed more paternal. The kids were still young, but no longer the cloying youngsters of endless reruns. The production also teemed with pretty ladies. Aside from Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, there was Greg's wife Nora, Peter's girlfriend Valerie, and Jennifer Runyon as a prettier, if blander, Cindy. Susan Olsen, the original Cindy, was on her honeymoon (she should have done the reunion, since that marriage ended in divorce). Also missing was Allan Melvin, the original Sam the butcher. Only Florence Henderson was a distraction, with almost Tammy Fay Bakkerish makeup and overplucked eyebrows.Now Schwartz is working on yet another Brady project where Mike is elected President. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Thanks, but I'll stick with this, the last vestige of old school Brady.