Bree Van de Kamp
| Bree Van de Kamp | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Desperate Housewives character | |||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Marcia Cross | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Pilot (episode 1.01) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Marc Cherry | ||||||||||||||||||
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Bree Hodge (née Mason, previously Van de Kamp) is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, played by Marcia Cross.
Born in 1962, Bree Hodge is a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, the conservative Republican widow of Rex Van de Kamp, the wife of Orson Hodge and one of the five main characters in the series Desperate Housewives. Bree is recognized for her perfectionist attitude and work ethic, which at times borders on neurosis and obsessive compulsion. While the writers have shied away from officially diagnosing the character as suffering from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, the character herself refers to her “quirks” in terms of anal retentiveness and not obsessive-compulsiveness.
Bree is known for her cooking, cleaning, ironing, gardening, doing her lawn, and reupholstering her own furniture, on the level of Martha Stewart. Besides being a dedicated homemaker, she also is well-versed in regards to firearm training: she owns four guns and is a card-carrying member of the Nation Rifle Association. Though a child of the seventies, she is a staunch conservative, owning and displaying a framed photograph of noted Republican President Ronald Reagan in her home. She is also a conservative Christian (Presbyterian) and a homophobe, though as of the third season Bree has slowly renounced her disdain for homosexuals with the revelation that her son Andrew was gay, and also his revealing that her homophobic response towards him when he came out of the closet was the driving force towards the pain he inflicted upon Bree during season two.
...Everyone on Wisteria Lane thought of Bree as the perfect wife and mother. Everyone that is, except her own family.
Season one Bree is introduced in season one as the perfect wife and mother,[1] however, it becomes apparent that her emotional coldness and obsession with appearance causes the rest of her family to resent her.[2] She is forced to take part in marriage counseling when her husband Rex asks for a divorce,[3][4] and her son Andrew's rebellious behavior leads her to cover up a hit-and-run accident to protect him. Bree eventually discovers that Rex is having an affair with a prostitute,[5] and leaves him, seeking companionship with local pharmacist George Williams. Hoping to restore her marriage, Bree reluctantly takes part in S&M scenarios with Rex in an attempt to satisfy him sexually.[6] As she and Rex begin to reconcile, the conservative Bree is horrified when Andrew comes out of the closet,[7] and her attempts to "correct" her son's homosexuality only succeeds in alienating him further. Bree continues to confide in George about her family problems, and unbeknown to Bree, he begins plotting to murder Rex by replacing his heart medication. When Rex has a heart attack and the doctors discover his medication was tampered with, Rex believes Bree was the one trying to kill him, and writes her a note forgiving her. He then dies of a heart-attack, leaving Bree devastated. Season two In season two, Bree is disgusted when she discovers that Rex suspected her of poisoning him, and she begins to rely on George for emotional support. George manipulates Bree into agreeing to marry him, but when his obsessive and jealous behavior becomes too much, she angrily breaks off the engagement. As Bree discovers that George is responsible for murdering Rex, George attempts a fake suicide in order to win her back. However, now knowing his part in her husband's death, Bree watches coldly as she allows George to die. Following these events, Bree slips into alcoholism, and Andrew's vendetta towards her reaches a head when he falsely accuses her of child abuse. To combat this, Bree reluctantly attends Alcoholics Anonymous, and begins a relationship with her sponsor, Peter McMillan, who is also a sex addict. Bree thwarts Andrew's attempts to achieve legal emancipation, so he takes revenge by having sex with Peter. Unable to cope with Andrew any longer, Bree kicks him out and falls into a deep depression. When her remaining child Danielle then runs away with her boyfriend Matthew Applewhite, Bree suffers a nervous breakdown and checks herself into a psychiatric clinic, where she meets Orson Hodge. However, after discovering that Matthew is a murderer and Danielle is in danger, Bree escapes the facility and confronts Matthew at gunpoint. Matthew is shot dead by the police, and Bree and Danielle reconcile.
Season three Season three sees Bree marry Orson after a six-month relationship, but their marriage is plagued by the revelation that Orson may have not only physically abused his first wife, Alma, but also murdered her. Shortly after the wedding, Andrew returns home, and the rift between him and his mother is healed through Orson's mediation. However, the arrival of Orson's mother, Gloria, and the return of Alma, causes a rift in the family once more. When the two women successfully drug Orson for the purpose of allowing Alma to rape him, Bree intervenes and learns that Gloria was responsible for murdering Orson's mistress Monique Pollier, in order to keep him trapped in a loveless marriage to Alma. Gloria then tries to murder Bree in the bathtub and make it look like suicide, but Orson intervenes and in defense of Bree, causes his mother to suffer a terminal stroke. With Gloria paralyzed, and Alma dead after falling from a roof, Bree and Orson are finally able to go on their honeymoon. When she returns, Bree announces to her friends that she is pregnant. However, it is in fact Danielle who is pregnant, but Bree plans to raise the child as her own to avoid scandal by wearing a series of false bellies and keeping Danielle hidden in a convent until she gives birth.
Season four Bree desires to have another chance at motherhood by lying to the neighbors about Danielle's pregnancy. Bree develops a rivalry with new neighbor Katherine Mayfair, who she finds out is keeping a secret. Phyllis Reynolds-Van de Kamp, Rex's mother, later turns up at Bree's baby party and the two soon come to blows, with Phyllis discovering Bree's secret. However, she keeps it quiet but she goes and takes Danielle from the place where she is being looked after. Bree and Orson take Danielle out of the home where Phyllis lives with Andrew's help. On Halloween, Danielle gives birth to a baby boy named Benjamin on Bree's kitchen table. Bree and Orson then take on the role of Benjamin's parents, with Bree telling her friends she gave birth in the middle of the night. After the tornado, Bree, Orson, and Benjamin move in with Susan and Julie. Bree needs a contractor and tries to fix Andrew up, but Susan makes it fail so she stays, because it is the only thing Susan has to hold onto since her husband is in rehab.
Cultural influences and impact
- Bree is spoofed in MADtv's Desperate Housewives parody[1], in which they mock the character's plastic exterior and demeanor.
- In a 2006 interview with Charmed Magazine, Michelle Stafford admitted that her character Mandi in Charmed episode "Desperate Housewitches" was almost entirely modeled on Marcia Cross as Bree. Looking at pictures and episodes of Bree to gain a sense of her posture and body language, she laughed, "I'm just mimicking her. I'm just ripping her off."
Behind the scenes
- Bree is based on creator Marc Cherry's own mother, as the entire Van de Kamp family is based on the family in which he grew up. Bree's family was based on Marc Cherry's teen years, while Lynette Scavo's family is based on Marc Cherry's childhood years.
- Bree has been warned not to get married twice. The first time, she was warned not to marry George Williams by his ex-girlfriend and the second time she was warned by Carolyn Bigsby not to marry Orson Hodge.
- Marcia Cross originally auditioned for the role of Mary Alice Young, but Marc Cherry thought she was Bree the minute she walked in.
- Bree and her first husband Rex were both named after the overtly vain characters on two of Marc Cherry's previous failed sitcoms, The Five Mrs. Buchanans (Bree) and The Crew (Rex).
- In the 3rd season episode 'My Husband, the Pig', Bree is played by Marcia Cross' stand in, Carolyn Howard, and in most scenes viewers will only see her backside. This is due to Marcia Cross' pregnancy. The character then proceeds to leave town to see her parents and go on to meet Orson for their honeymoon, which explains her departure.
- Bree is the only character, from the leading four females, not to appear in every episode because of her maternity leave towards the end of Season 3.
- Bree drives a 2003 Saturn LW300 until Rex dies, when she begins to drive his 2005 Chrysler 300C.
- Bree and Rex (and after season 2, Bree and Orson) attend Fairview's Presbyterian church.
References
- ^ Season 1, "Pilot" approximately 5:43
- ^ Season 1, "Pilot" approximately 21:10
- ^ Season 1, "Pilot" approximately 27:26
- ^ Season 1, "Ah, But Underneath" approximately 13:41
- ^ Season 1, "Come Back to Me" approximately 8:59
- ^ Season 1, "Love is in the Air approximately 34:35
- ^ Season 1, "Children Will Listen" approximately 36:23