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"This time I am the one doing the screwing.."
Larry Dittmeyer

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The Brady Bunch Movie

Pat Rioux and Jennifer Rioux

 Brady Bunch Movie The plot for the THE BRADY BUNCH, THE MOVIE (1995) is rooted in the unscruplous and deceptive behavior of a real estate broker neighbor of the Brady family. Michael McKean portrays Larry Dittmeyer, ''Your Realtor for the 90s'', as an unethical real estate broker looking to get rich off the sale of his neighbors' home sales to a developer who wants to build a residential mini-mall. His villainous character makes him the brunt of many jokes in the film, some of which include pain (picking up a live wire, traffic accidents, etc.). We find ourselves cheering on this campy, pathetic family living their 70s lifestyle of naivete and sunshine juxtaposed in the somewhat jaded world of the 90s.

Dittmeyer has managed to convince all of the neighbors except Brady to sell their homes to his client who he promises can buy the whole block for his project. The opening scene of the movie shows Dittmeyer telling his client, "This time I am the one doing the screwing." But Brady, an architect who designed his home which he feels is perfect for the blended family of six kids, a set of parents and a live-in, unpaid maid, resists all of Dittmeyers attempts to get him to sell. This is where the two worlds collide and Dittmeyer has to resort to more schemes to get the last house on the block. When he opens the Brady's mail and finds out the house will go up for auction for unpaid back taxes of $20,000, he sees his opportunity to grab the house for the back taxes and finalize the deal for his client.

Dittmeyer, who has to deal with an alcoholic wife and delinquent kids, is also confronted by angry neighbors worried that Brady will not budge. Dittmeyer worries, too, when he hears that architect Brady has sold a new design for an exercise gym and will be able to pay the taxes after all. Once he finds out the client's name, he commits his sleaziest behavior of the movie by visiting the client and fabricating a story that Brady was charged with criminal negligence for the faulty construction of an old folks home. The alleged tragedy happened on Christmas day when the grandchildren were visiting... "some with puppies". As expected, Brady loses the client and his chance to protect his family.

In true Brady Bunch tradition, however, the day is saved when the children perform as a young musical group and win a local "Star Search " type contest which just happens to have a $20,000 prize. The villain is thwarted at the auction when the Bradys arrive with the prize money check. The neighbors respond to Mr. Brady as he teaches us one of his "life lessons" about the old-fashioned values of good neighbors. One by one, the neighbors decide to stay put. When someone asks why they aren't worried about the money they are losing on the sale, the neighbor says they will have plenty of money after "the huge settlement we are going to get after we sue Dittmeyer's ass."

 Brady Bunch Movie Buy the Video

Jennifer Rioux, an aspiring filmmaker, has a BA in Communication: Film and Electronic Media from Worcester State College and is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Television/Video at Emerson College in Boston. She has recently completed an internship at Brayton/Carlucci Productions at Hearst Entertainment in Los Angeles.

Pat Rioux is a contributor to the International Real Estate Digest and hosts a consumer education web site for home buyers at HouseBuyer.com



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