Elizabeth Olsen on WandaVision and whether the Brady Bunch Movie holds up
TV Features Elizabeth Olsen
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in desperate need of some therapists. At least, that’s what Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Wanda “Scarlet Witch” Maximoff, tells The A.V. Club in the video above. After all, when last we saw Maximoff and her Avengers pals, half of the universe had just disappeared for a few years and then reappeared, just to face down their own demises once again. If Maximoff is a little messed up, as the WandaVision trailer might suggest, you’re just going to have to forgive her.
That and more from Olsen in the clip above, including notes about the WandaVision crew’s sitcom boot camp and the classic shows she revisits for comfort, like Bewitched and Family Matters. She also really loves the Brady Bunch Movie, and having revisited it while they were making WandaVision, says that fans will be happy to know that it absolutely holds up. Phew.
The first two episodes of WandaVision hit Disney Plus this Friday, January 15.
24 Comments
I revisited both the Brady Bunch movie and its sequel over the early part of quarantine for the first time since they were released, and they absolutely hold up. Much better than they have any right to be.
I remember enjoying them a lot at the time. And isn’t that “Sure, Jan” gif that everyone uses the Marcia from the movie, not the original show?
It is! The second movie.
Sometimes I randomly text my childhood best friend. We will go months without talking wrapped in our own lives and I’ll just text her “Myyyy mushrooms?!?” and she’ll respond “His name is George, George Glass.”God those movies were so good and so perfectly cast. I love them so much and I’m so happy to see this thread of others who love them.
I love them both. I think the first is the most 90s movie there is, even more than Clueless. They just work so hard to show “it’s the 90s” and hit every iconic note exactly right so it weirdly works better now as 90s retro than it did at the time as 70s nostalgia. I can’t think of a better turn-off-your-brain movie for a depressing rainy Saturday afternoon.The second is great too. It’s going for a classic Simpsons vibe and I think it succeeds. The actors playing Jan, Marcia and Greg are so perfect in both and Gary Cole delivers an amazingly surreal performance, so much better than you’d expect and it makes me wish he was a much bigger star. The only weak link is Shelley Long who obviously wishes she was anywhere else, but even that is kind of endearing and perfectly her. Did I mention I love these movies?
Ru Paul’s turn as the guidance counselor in this one, so underrated.
The only beef I have with the two Brady Bunch movies isn’t their fault.They were so good that they inspired a wave of tongue-in-cheek remakes of beloved television properties, but most of them sucked because they didn’t have the deftness that those two did. Most of them ended up being overbroad and went from homage or even pastiche to a ham-fisted cringefest that held the original up to ridicule rather than honoring it. That was especially evident in the ones that took a show that was originally a drama and turned it into a comedy.
How does The Brady Bunch in the White House hold up then?
I’m just glad that this isn’t some 10 page long article that buries the Brady Bunch movie teaser into the last paragraph. And is only one sentence long.
Isn’t Doc Samson the Avengers’ therapist?
It’s really funny to me that Olsen specifically mentions two TGIF shows that *didn’t* star her older sisters. Almost like she’s going out of her way to not say Full House.
Isn’t she a few years younger than Ashley and Mary-Kate? While she definitely saw the impact of Full House, she probably has little recollection of her sisters doing that show as production probably ended around the time she was 4, maybe 5 years old. That and it seems that A and M-K have worked to distance themselves from that show, especially since they decided not to be in the Fuller House sequel/spin-off show – perhaps Elizabeth is just honoring their relationship with Full House?
That’s a really good point about her sisters distancing themselves from Full House. I hadn’t considered that. I bet you’re right!
She must have vivid memories of So Little Time or Two of a Kind, then.
When you watch the Brady Bunch movies on TV, the visual likeness is all the more incredible. Add to that some pure fire retooled lines like “something suddenly came up” and it’s absolute bliss. The modern touches are fun too, like the guy who observes “there’s only one bathroom and it doesn’t even have a toilet!” and I still crack up at Tim Matheson’s horror when he realizes he’s “tripping…with the Brady’s”
OK, who do you cast as the WandaVersion of Bob Newhart?
Erm…Bob Newhart?He’s done The Big Bang Theory, so why not something as wacky as WandaVision?
I’m sure he still has the chops but he’s kinda scary to look at now. Maybe get Lola FX on it
Hmm I’m probably barking up the wrong tree, but Paul Bettany said in a recent interview that there’s a surprise guest upcoming in the show. I’d assumed he was referring to a fellow MCU actor, but now I’m wondering if maybe it could be a sitcom legend.We’ll see I suppose.
Im sure its Doctor Strange, given the next movie is a teamup between him and Wanda.
I dunno that doesn’t seem all that unexpected to me. I feel like it’s going to be someone left field.
She may not be worth billions, but Elizabeth is still the better Olsen.
Jimmy Olsen would like a word. And a picture.
The trailers just look so batshit crazy. Being able to go nuts on the Disney+ format like this is just what the MCU needed after the big screen dramas. I guess the even bigger trick now is continuing to work on avoiding over-saturation and viewer fatigue.