The Brady Girls Get Married

The Brady Girls Get Married
NBC
February 6, 1981
TV-Movie
VHS
B-

After two years, Jan becomes engaged to her boyfriend, Philip Covington III (Ron Kuhlman)*.  Her parents are nonetheless surprised, mostly because Marcia is still single.  Then Marcia confides in a sympathetic stranger, Wally Logan (Jerry Houser), who suggests they get married.  She thinks he's crazy but she is attracted to him.  So after a week of a whirlwind romance, they get engaged.  Now Mike and Carol are really surprised.  The "girls" (now about 24 and 21, since Cindy is 18 and has just started college) decide on a double wedding, although their fiances are complete opposites and it's hard for even the sisters to agree.  The wedding goes through after some bumps, and the four of them even end up buying a house together.

Sherwood Schwartz and his son Lloyd co-wrote this special and Peter Baldwin, who had directed seven episodes of the original series, directed it, so it's probably not surprising that this is as cheesy as can be, complete with laugh track.  Still, for a fan it's pretty much what you would want, especially at this point in the Brady saga.  It has every single member of the main cast, for the one and only time.  It includes clips from early episodes, for extra nostalgia.  It updates us on everyone's career or college situation.  And it's about as canonical as it can get, after the acid trip of The Variety Hour.

It's easy to tell that, Reed's arguments with the Schwartzes aside (check out the acid in the way he jokes about watching Gilligan's Island), the genuine regard and love of the nine cast members for each other comes through.  Even McCormick and Plumb, who would have a falling out many years later, look happy to work together.  Reed, I should also note, looks proudly at Henderson when she does her solo at the wedding.  As for Kuhlman and Houser, I think they fit in just fine.  At the time, I would've preferred Wally's laidbackness, but Philip has grown on me over time, and even in his first appearance, there is a dry wit to him, so that he's not just a blend of college professor and uptight WASP.  I can see why this was a ratings hit, although the follow-up series, The Brady Brides, was not.  The humor is a little racier here than on the original series (especially Wally's "nude scene") and in fact my strongest memory of Brides was the Newlywed Game episode, where Philip ends up blurting out, "Thighs and breasts!"  (It's on the Internet if you're curious.)

Of the two movers, Bert Rosario, who plays Maxie, was Reuben Ortiz on The Bob Newhart Show, while Stuart Pankin, who's Frank, would be Doug Shaffer on Who's the Boss?  Philip's mother is played by Jean Byron, who was Patty's mother on The Patty Duke Show.  Wally's mother is played by Carol Arthur (Dom DeLuise's wife) and she was Mrs. Lawrence on What's Happening!!, while Wally's father, James Gallery, had recently appeared on M*A*S*H as Murray Thompson, and would be Kip's uncle the next season on Bosom Buddies.

*As usual with the Bradys, I can't tag everyone involved.  Sorry, Ron!