When I watched this TV movie, I had very low expectations. I've seen a few of these retrospective movies based on sitcoms (i.e. Diff'rent Strokes, Three's Company) and they are mostly train wrecks: bad acting, corny dialogue, characters that look/act nothing like the original actor they are portraying, hatchet jobs based on long standing grudges, a slightly exaggerated version of what really happened. Except for the latter, this movie did not fall into any of those traps.
This movie showcases the "Brady Bunch" years from the perspective of Barry Williams who played eldest son, Greg. The first thing that I noticed was the Brady kids were very believable as the original actors that they were portraying. Kaley Cuoco, who would go on to greater fame, was a dead ringer for a young Maureen McCormick. Adam Brody was also perfectly cast and very charismatic as Barry Williams.
The adults (Robert Reed, Florence Henderson and Sherwood Schwartz) were also very well represented. Reed (Daniel Hugh Kelly) was portrayed as a very complex person. On one hand, he resented being stuck on a simplistic sitcom as "The Brady Bunch" and frequently let Sherwood Schwartz know that in no uncertain terms. However on the other hand, he was very supportive of the kids and treated them like family, even offering career advice to Williams.
Schwartz (Michael Tucker) who frequently was on the receiving end of Reed's criticism came across as somewhat of a father figure to the children who seemed to have the patience of a saint. He had no misconceptions that the show was nothing more than a simple family sitcom, which was the norm at that time.
I was most surprised by Rebeccah Bush's portrayal of Henderson. It was apparent that she really prepared well for the role. At times, I thought that she really was Florence Henderson.
Although there were a few minor inconsistencies with William's book, the movie was well-paced, did not resort to cheap revelations and was satisfying in the end.
This movie showcases the "Brady Bunch" years from the perspective of Barry Williams who played eldest son, Greg. The first thing that I noticed was the Brady kids were very believable as the original actors that they were portraying. Kaley Cuoco, who would go on to greater fame, was a dead ringer for a young Maureen McCormick. Adam Brody was also perfectly cast and very charismatic as Barry Williams.
The adults (Robert Reed, Florence Henderson and Sherwood Schwartz) were also very well represented. Reed (Daniel Hugh Kelly) was portrayed as a very complex person. On one hand, he resented being stuck on a simplistic sitcom as "The Brady Bunch" and frequently let Sherwood Schwartz know that in no uncertain terms. However on the other hand, he was very supportive of the kids and treated them like family, even offering career advice to Williams.
Schwartz (Michael Tucker) who frequently was on the receiving end of Reed's criticism came across as somewhat of a father figure to the children who seemed to have the patience of a saint. He had no misconceptions that the show was nothing more than a simple family sitcom, which was the norm at that time.
I was most surprised by Rebeccah Bush's portrayal of Henderson. It was apparent that she really prepared well for the role. At times, I thought that she really was Florence Henderson.
Although there were a few minor inconsistencies with William's book, the movie was well-paced, did not resort to cheap revelations and was satisfying in the end.