David Cassidy on the Web
And a Partridge in a parody
February 9, 2008
Winnipeg Free Press
Through the years, the Partridge Family has been satirized its fair share of times. Here are a few noteworthy instances...
Mad Magazine dubbed the group The Putrid Family in its April 1972 edition. In the lampoon's first panel, Teeth Putrid (a.k.a. Keith Partridge) informs his mom, Shrilly, that he's "too pretty to drive" when she begs somebody else to take the wheel of the family bus.
In 1996, the MTV Video Awards spoofed both The Partridge Family and the Keanu Reaves blockbuster Speed. In the vignette, Shirley Jones, Danny Bonaduce and Dave Madden (band manager Reuben Kincaid) work hard to ensure the family bus's speed remains above 50 miles per hour.
The fifth episode of The Simpsons' ninth season was entitled The Cartridge Family. Named the fifth-best episode in the show's history by the Florida Sun-Times, the show centered around Homer buying a gun to protect his family, despite Marge's disapproval.
The DVD 101 Unforgettable Saturday Night Live Moments includes a 1992 Battle of the Bands sketch that pitted the Partridge Family against the Brady Bunch. Quelle surprise: Susan Dey (Laurie Partridge) was SNL's host that week.
The initial episode of The Ben Stiller Show, which aired on Fox in 1992, included a sketch featuring Reuben Kincaid (Dave Madden). Titled U2: The Early Years, it portrayed Bono (Ben Stiller) as an original member of the Partridge Family.
In 1995's The Brady Bunch Movie, the Partridge Family bus can be spotted parading past Marcia and Greg's high school.
In moviedom's undisputed Best Chick Flick Ever! (that would be Four Weddings and a Funeral), Charles (Hugh Grant) quotes the Partridge Family's most famous song to Carrie (Andie MacDowell). "In the words of David Cassidy... in fact, uh, while he was still with the Partridge Family... uh... I think I love you," he stammered. (And OK, so what if the scene wasn't a satire, per se. Because any opportunity we get to celebrate Four Weddings, we're gonna.)
