The House Bunny

I actually wasn't going to review 'The House Bunny' because I figured no one would actually read it and it would probably die a quick death at the box office. Surprisingly a few friends asked me if I would recommend this chick flick because they were seriously considering checking it out.  (Even more surprising is that these friends of mine are not girls but guys.) I figured, there must be at least a handful of moviegoers curious about this film, so why the hell not give my critique.  Is it good?  Well, its not the funniest movie I've seen this summer, but some elements do surprisingly work.  Is it a piece of crap? Not at all, in fact even though the film's parts work much better than its whole, there are a lot of good parts to like.  The strongest element and perhaps the real draw for this film (for men at least) is 'Scary Movie' veteran Anna Faris who not only has no fear of looking stupid, but is hot to look at.

There's nothing sleazy about Faris. Even when she's played bitchy there's always something to like about her personality and enthusiasm.  As Shelly, a Playboy bunny in charge of organizing the fun to be had at Hef's mansion, she's enthusiastic over just about anything.  Following her twenty-seventh birthday bash, Shelly wakes up to find a note from Hef (yes, Hef and his "girls next door" are actually in this movie) asking her to vacate the premises in two hours.  In just a short time she goes from the life of the party, to life on the street and inadvertently lands in jail when she's pulled over and misinterprets a traffic cop's request to "put her mouth on this" (breathalyzer).  Before long Shelly stumbles onto a college campus and when a fledgling sorority house needs a new "house mother" she figures she's more than qualified for the job.  But the students at this sorority aren't the hot girls on campus, but rather the outcasts led by Natalie (a crimson headed Emma Stone from 'The Rocker' and 'Superbad'). 

What's interesting about Stone is that we've seen her play the hottie before, but she's also quite adept at playing a dweeb.  Don't get me wrong, she's still hot behind thick glasses with her hair in a ponytail, but she does everything she can to repel the opposite sex, like Colby (Tyson Ritter) the hunk she desires.  She's so un-hip that she figures her peers' idea of having a good time must involve tying shoes together and throwing them over telephone wires because she sees that everywhere. Natalie is the only member of the sorority who welcomes the idea of Shelly coming in to give them all a make-over, while goth chick Mona (Kat Dennings) is eager to point out that the girl is nothing more than "an archaically superficial reflection of the male fantasy."  As the smart aleck of the house (and a dead ringer for Hillary Duff), Dennings may be familiar to "40-year-old Virgin " fans as Catherine Keener's daughter, but she also has a starring role in the upcoming 'Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist."  Other members include Kiely Williams, former 'Punk'd' writer Dana Goodman (whose character has managed to stay in college for nine years) and Rumer Willis (wearing an uncomfortable spinal brace) whose real-life parents Bruce and Demi may be familiar to you.  Willis has her own moment involving breaking out of her brace 'Forrest Gump' style while chasing after a boy and rather than come across as cheesey, her enthusiasm makes it actually sweet.  There's also 'American Idol' runner-up Katherine McPhee as the pregnant member of the household (though its never revealed who the daddy is).

Shelly and the girls go through the typical montage where she gives them all a make-over and by the film's halfway point, the girls are not only wanted and desired by all the males at school, but throw the coolest parties on campus.  That doesn't sit well with bitchy Ashley (Sarah Wright) head of a rival sorority or her house mother (the great Beverly D'Angelo) because they want to expand their own charter. 

But the story isn't just another 'Revenge of the Nerds' with girls who defeat their oppressors by making their own rules.  There are a few dopey, but humorous sub-plots.  Turns out Hef never wrote that letter to Shelly and it was part of some scheme cooked up by a sneaky Playmate (Monet Mazur) who wants to steal Shelly's chance at finally becoming a center-fold for herself.  Then there's the romantic angle which involves Shelly falling for Oliver (Colin Hanks) an ordinary guy and nursing home coordinator who she tries hard to impress and fails...twice.  When Shelly tries to play hard to get, by only talking about herself and saying she has another date after theirs to make Oliver jealous, things go bad.  They when the girls try to "smarten" her up so that she can impress him, their second date has even worse results.

There are quite a number of things that fail to work.  We never see the girls even pick up a text book for school except when they are helping Shelly "smarten" up for her date with Oliver.  The sub-plot involving the girls needing to recruit thirty new members so their house won't be shuttered is boring and a gimmick involving Faris repeating in an 'Exorcist' type voice so that she can remember names wears thin.  Though that gag is used so often that it eventually grows more humorous than tiresome.

Anna Faris' style is not for everyone.  She's a little too good at playing vapid (a word used in the film quite often to describe her) that some may wonder if she really is an airhead.  For me, part of Shelly's appeal is that she's hot looking and completely clueless.  Sounds shallow, I know, but Shelly isn't a complete cardboard cut-out and Faris delivers the cheesy heartfelt monologues written for the character ("kindness is just love with its workboots on") with sincerity.  On top of that, I personally get a charge out of that clueless doe-eyed expression that she wears so well as well as the humorous range of her voice.  The fact that the girls she takes under her wing have no idea how uncool Shelly really is only adds to the appeal.  The whole "learning to be yourself" theme is overplayed, but it works.  It's not a perfect film, or filled with wall-to-wall laughs, but thanks to Faris and her supporting cast 'The House Bunny' isn't completely forgettable either.