Marcia Marcia Marcia

June 21st, 2017 by Proprietor

Yes, I was a Jan fan, my view of Marcia is a bit a skew, but, there is something enduring about the oldest Brady girl. The focus of passion, lust, and angst for so many male or female viewers of the Brady Bunch. From the first show to the last, Marcia was considered the fairest of all the Brady girls. Though I disagree.

Marcia was shallow and one dimensional as a character. Because Marcia developed earlier, and wore groovy dresses, she constantly stole Jan’s boyfriends or received attention from them, Clark Tyson, would realize who was the most pretty. Marcia was boy crazy enough to date bug collecting geeks like Harvey Klinger. Good looking enough, and supposedly talented enough to win all kinds of trophies, yet so insecure about herself, she joined every club her freshman year of high school. Eventually realizing she was being superficial when Peter’s volcano blew up all over the most shallow club of high school girls, and those young ladies stormed off.

Because Marcia was Greg’s sister, she was constantly in competition to do better than him, even when an attic room became available. The whole gender thing was played out, much to the chagrin of Trail Scouts and eggs. Marcia had talent, she could sing, and she looked good doing it. She could even act, but her ego got the better of her. Eventually Marcia would step up to proper boyfriends for a cheerleader/pom pom type, athletes. Though many men wanted to use her, she used them. Her charm and beauty always a weapon. Marcia was not adverse to using tears as a weapon. Marcia was prone to crying a lot. When the competition became tough, things did not go her way or her looks were damaged, things became hopeless, and the water works flowed.

Marcia’s obsession with her looks might be somewhat Maureen McCormick’s own personal feelings. Maureen was uncomfortable with her body in Hawaii, because Eve had a flatter stomach. Maureen would stand with her arms crossed over her belly or have a towel in front when she was wearing a bikini. Though Marcia could rock the bikini and any clothing she wore, because she had a great body. So she had a bit of a belly. Marcia was still damn sexy.

From braces to broken nose, there was the constant focus on Marcia’s beauty. Yes, she was beautiful. Narcissistic to a fault. When she was cast as Juliette, she thought she knew better. Her comeuppance, even the possible indication of which direction Marcia’s life would take in the future was at the hands of her sister, Jan. When both girls worked for Haskell’s Ice Cream Parlor. Marcia was plotting to take over and become partner. Marcia did have a brain and ambition, but her little head usually overrode her real head. When a jilted boyfriend she tossed over to earn money, and be an independent woman, came in with another girl. Marcia went berserk. Firing whipped cream at the enemy, and chasing off customers. When Mr. Haskell decided being semi-retired was not working out for him, he kept the more meek and hardworking Jan. Marcia went crazy, but all it took was the boy to appeal to her vanity, and Marcia decided boys and living a leisure life was more fun. A trophy wife was probably going to be her lot in life.

It was revealed in the short lived sequels and movies that Marcia would marry, on impulse, a sales man, because Jan was going to marry a college professor, and Marcia could not lose to her younger sister. Marcia and her dead beat husband would have two children, Marcia would be a house mom, eventually becoming an alcoholic, and her husband would lose one job after another. Together with her spouse, they would move back to the Brady House and become caterers, and that was that. The Brady sequels ended. Marcia’s vanity would be played up to it’s fullest, and her lust for boys taken to extremes in the later parody movies.

Ironically, Jan was the one who uttered in frustration the often quoted. “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.” A phrase more quoted than the shallow “Oh My Nose.” Poetic justice of sorts.

Thanks for stopping by.

PS: I do think Maureen (Marcia) is beautiful. I just prefer Eve (Jan) who is pretty.