MovieChat Forums > The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) Discussion > Best and worst portrayals in the cast

Best and worst portrayals in the cast

posted 9 years ago by number9-4
8 replies | jump to latest

The best portrayals were easily Mike and Alice, for me. Then Marcia, then Cindy. Jan was good in a lot of ways, but the fact that they made her so over-the-top kind of ruined the potential for extreme likeness to the original Jan.

Shelley Long just sounded like Shelley Long, to me. She happens to have a somewhat similar voice and mannerisms to Florence Henderson, but FH also had a deeper, more seductive voice and general demeanor.

All three of the boys were pretty poorly cast, in my opinion. Greg was too perky, Peter just didn't remind me of the original Peter, and Bobby just sounded like any other kid.

One thing that confuses me a little bit about some of the actors' portrayals is that they all seem to skew more perky and goody-goody than the original characters. I know it was supposed to be a parody of how clean-cut the Bradys were, but they weren't THAT clean-cut. Greg could be a bit of a typical teenage jerk, Cindy could be a little bratty and Carol could be a little bossy. But all three of those characters, in particular, are portrayed in the movie as sugary sweet all of the time.

[–] kaydie-fee 9 years ago

Gary Cole doesn't look a whole lot like Robert Reed but his voice and mannerisms were bang on, Marcia was very close too.
The lady who played Alice was very good, I thought Shelly Long was good too, Carol wasn't always that perky on the show but her corniness worked in the movie version.
Jan was nothing really like the original Jan (she was closer to fake Jan from the variety hour) but she was hilarious and real Jan is kinda annoying to me anyway, movie Greg was a lot geekier than the real one he was more like the original Peter imo but he was pretty funny and did have some of Gregs cheesy confidence so I don't mind, Cindy was good, Peter and especially Bobby weren't much like the originals, the real Peter wasn't as neurotic and Bobby had a personality.

[–] number9-4 9 years ago

Gary Cole doesn't look a whole lot like Robert Reed but his voice and mannerisms were bang on

That's my only complaint about him. He sounds so much like RR, but looks pretty much nothing like him, and even his hairdo didn't really resemble Mike's, in my opinion. But when he and Carol are in bed, and he goes, "Penny for your thoughts..." was the perfect combination of both Mike's tone of voice and mannerisms.

With Marcia, I didn't understand why they made her hair so platinum. Didn't Maureen have kind of sandy-blonde hair throughout the show?

the real Peter wasn't as neurotic and Bobby had a personality.

Those are both good points. I'm not a huge Brady Bunch devotee, but it seems to me like TV Peter was generally not an awkward doofus. And movie Bobby, like I said in my OP, just kind of seemed like any other kid, whereas TV Bobby was a bit mischievous.

[–] punkrockgirl (1270) 2 years ago

I agree about Carol and Mike. I don't think the actor playing Mr. Brady looks anything like him, but as long as he still manages to pull it off, it's good. The actress playing Carol mastered both the looks and mannerisms of Carol Brady. I thought all three of the girls were spot on (except maybe Cindy seemed a little off in look and acting.) I disagree with what people are saying about the boys. The actor playing Greg looks nothing like him, but at least does a good job with the way he acted in the show. The actors playing Peter and Bobby reminded me exactly of the originals.

[–] McCartney42 9 years ago

No they weren't THAT clean cut. Especially Greg, I remember him trying out smoking in one episode!! Oh my goodness!!

[–] gph317-2 8 years ago

Christine Taylor as Marcia was the best reincarnation of an original cast member. There were moments when she was on screen that I really thought it was Maureen McCormick.

[–] Tyler-A-Arse 8 years ago

All three of the boys were pretty poorly cast, in my opinion.

I agree. All 3 were wrong for the roles. Surely they could've done better. The girls were cast better, but Christine Taylor blew it up with Marcia. She was spot on. Next was Henriette Mantel as Alice. Well-done, also.

[–] Movie_Riggs 8 years ago

I remember that I liked Mike ad Marcia, Carol and Alice were average and the rest were varying degrees of poor interpretations for one reason or another.

[–] [email protected] (2033) 4 years ago

I just watched the series and you're right, they weren't as goody two shoes and as corny as they were made out to be. But I don't mind the films, they were my introduction to The Brady Bunch and they have their own charm for me. Also it seems every Brady, Marcia and Mike included are all exaggerated like Marcia's vanity and cruelty to Jan or Mike's lectures.