While architect Mike tries to sell a design so his boss will advance him the $20,000, the kids work at all kinds of odd jobs to help raise money. And there are plenty of subplots that will be familiar to Bradyphiles, as the kids fight over their home's single bathroom, as teenage daughters Marcia and Jan vie for attention, as son Greg aspires to be a rock star, as daughter Cindy learns not to tattle and as Mike continually spouts confusing or bizarre homilies.

Meanwhile, the family spends its free time with potato sack races and square-dancing, and, of course, Alice waits for that wedding ring from her butcher boyfriend. (Surprisingly, it is Long who has the least amount of screen time here, though she does get to frequently flash that Florence Hen-derson smile.)

Along the way, there are very broad gags that seem to be shooting for that off-the-wall "Naked Gun"/"Hot Shots" feel; a number of jokes based entirely on the Bradys' '70s wardrobe, from mini-skirts to bell bottoms to bizarre color schemes (not to mention their astro-turf lawn); an appearance by cross-dresser RuPaul as a high school counselor; naive Marcia not realizing that her best friend is gay and has a crush on her; and a number of not-unexpected cameos, including former "Brady Bunch" cast members and three of The Monkees. (I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I'm probably the only person in the theater who got one of the gags associated with these cameos, as Ann B. Davis — the original "Alice" — plays a truck driver and refers to herself as "Schultzy," which was her character's name on "The Bob Cummings Show," a sitcom that predates "The Brady Bunch" by more than a decade!)

Unfortunately, none of this is either terribly original or especially amusing, and my guess is that only die-hard fans of the old series will care one way or the other.

Of course, I didn't think "The Beverly Hillbillies" would be a hit, either.

At this point, I must confess to being Brady-impaired, having never actually watched a complete "Brady Bunch" television episode, although I know enough about the film from peripheral culture-vision to understand what's going on.

But a bad movie is a bad movie — and "The Brady Bunch Movie" is a very bad movie.

"The Brady Bunch Movie" is rated PG-13 for comic violence, vulgarity and sexual innuendo.