See it for the Very Good Comedic Turn of Anna Faris
Added 11/1/2009
Though largely formulaic and predictable, "The House Bunny" remains a pretty enjoyable watch, thanks to the star (and co-executive producer) Anna Faris, best known for her turns in the "Scary Movie" franchise. Watch the film for her performance and maybe, just maybe you will not be disappointed.
In "The House Bunny" Anna Faris plays a 27-year-old Playboy bunny named Shelley Darlington, whose dream is to be a centerfold of the magazine. Actually, Shelley is an ex-Playboy bunny now because she got recently kicked out of Hugh Hefner's mansion on the day she turned 27 because, she thinks, that is like 59 in bunny years.
Shelley finds her new home in the sorority house Zeta Alpha Zeta. She also learns that Zeta will get the charter revoked unless they get 30 new pledges. As house mother Shelley first teaches the "misfit" girls there how to change their outward appearances. Well, as you expect, it works. Maybe not as smart as the heroine of "Legally Blonde," Shelley remains confident, optimistic, and most importantly, likable.
It is Anna Faris and her undeniable talent as comedienne that makes "The House Bunny" barely watchable. Colin Hanks appears as Oliver, a good-natured student working as volunteer staff at senior citizen's home, but his role as Shelley's love interest is rather unmemorable. Two veterans Christopher McDonald and Beverly D'Angelo are wasted.
As I said before, watch "The House Bunny" for the leading lady's brilliant performance. I know she deserves a better script, and she will be terrific in much more "serious" movies, but that is another story.
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Amusing, but makes light of serious subject
Added 9/17/2009
This is a fluffy film about a air-headed playboy bunny who decides to help a bunch of misfit girls in a sorority become more accepted. I thought this was a light hearted piece of fluff but nothing that exactly broke any records or was of too serious. It was a cute film, the acting was okay, and some of the transformations the girls went through were unexpected. The glorification of playboy manor as a Barbie doll house of fun was a bit disingenuous but might allow for positive discussions with young people about the impact of porn and beauty standards on the lives of women.
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Unbelievably bad!!!!
Added 7/21/2009
I watch all kinds of films; classics, westerns, sci-fi, horror, exploitation, you name it. I can usually find some entertaining qualities about anything, but this? The story was absurd, the acting was atrocious, and Anna Faris has absolutely zero appeal as an actress, character, or even as a sex symbol. The only thing the film makers got right was that Faris is the embodiment of what Playboy women have become in recent years; plastic from head to toe, and dumb as a bag o' hammers. In short, life is way too short to waist an hour and a half on crap like this. This makes "Showgirls" appear Oscar worthy.
0 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Will Set Women Back 4,000,000 Years
Added 7/19/2009
Just kidding. This is a lighthearted movie. The message? It's okay to be sexy. The other message? There's more to life than being sexy. The idea of "bunny wisdom" versus "geek wisdom" works along with a lot of verbal humor rather than slapstick. Sure, it plays on well-worn cliches, but it doesn't take itself - or these stereotypes - too seriously. Good fun.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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I'm glad I borrowed it and didnt pay to rent it!
Added 7/3/2009
This was without a doubt one of the worst movies I have watched in a long time. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece but I was hoping it would be kind of cute. The main actress is attractive but it takes far more than that to make a move watchable (maybe guys would view it differently but my husband and son thought it was stupid as well). The whole plot about why she got kicked out of the mansion in the first place was stupid. She admits in the movie that people only started loving her when she grew up into a beautiful girl, as a child no one wanted her. Her charges at the sorority were very cliche, not funny and not likable. None of them had any talent with boys however one still managed to be pregnant. The worst part of the movie had to be her habit of repeating names in a "exorcist" type voice to remember them. I have no idea what the point behind that was and why it was considered funny.
My advice - skip it and watch something (just about anything) else.
0 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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"I know lots of old men - hairy and not-hairy. But I don't mean to brag..."
Added 9/13/2009
Anna Faris, who proved her incredible comedy talents as the star of the "Scary Movie" franchise, once again shines in the affable teen comedy, THE HOUSE BUNNY.
When sweet Playboy model Shelley Darlingson (Anna Faris) is booted out of the Mansion for committing the cardinal sin of turning twenty-seven ("that's 59 in Bunny Years!"), she must find a way to reinvent her life. But what's a girl to do when she only has a killer rack and a sunny personality? Of course...become the house mother to a struggling college sorority of misfit teen girls whose social skills could do with a bedazzling makeover!
It doesn't offer anything new to the teen comedy genre, but THE HOUSE BUNNY is likeable enough to please those who approach it in the right spirit. Anna Faris is charming and delightful as Shelley, providing a sweet performance undeserving of the limited material. Colin Hanks, Beverly d'Angelo, Christopher McDonald and the girls of Alpha Zeta (in particular Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Rumer Willis and Kiely Williams) are all solid in their support. Hugh Hefner's cameo with the real Playboy gals adds an extra touch of authenticity to Shelley's life at the Mansion.
The Blu-ray release includes behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, Katharine McPhee's "I Know What Boys Like" music video; and trailers.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Rises above banality thorugh spirited performances
Added 8/25/2009
Basically, this is a barely-updated re-telling of 'Revenge of the Nerds'. And if you liked that one, then you'll probably enjoy this movie as well. Same recycled characters as 20 years ago. The "loser" sorority sisters who are actually hotties-in-waiting? Check! The preppy/nasty/stuck-up competing sorority? Check! The clueless college administrators? Check!
Despite all this, I actually found myself very entertained. It had the same innocence and good nature as its predecessor. And a good part of the credit goes to Anna Farris as the homeless Playboy Bunny (kicked out of the Mansion for being too old at 27). She just throws herself so fully into the role, with no self-conciousness at all, that I totally bought into it. She was just too fresh and earnest to hate. And let's face it, it doesn't hurt that she looks so good in the little schoolgirl outfit.
I'm not so sure I need to own this on Blu-Ray or anything, it's probably not the kind of comedy you'd watch over and over again. But if you're looking for something that you can just sit back and relax with for 100 minutes, this would do just fine.
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About average at best
Added 3/29/2009
THE HOUSE BUNNY
** ½ Out of 5
Release Date- August 22nd, 2008
Running Time- 97-Minutes
Rating- PG-13
Screenplay- Karen McCullah Lutz & Kirsten Smith
Director- Fred Wolf
Starring- Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Rumer Willis, Katharine McPhee with Christopher McDonald and Beverly D'Angelo
Going into The House Bunny I really wasn't expecting much of anything and I pretty much got just that; thankfully I didn't buy the movie, but borrowed it from my cousin. The House Bunny is a movie we've seen done millions of times. We have a group of social misfits who are the outcasts and meet someone who helps them open up and break out of their shells. Despite the clichéd nature of the movie it doesn't hurt it though. Even with clichés you can still make it work if done right and The House Bunny is by the books and while it wasn't very good it was watchable I suppose as long as you keep your expectations low.
The screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz & Kirsten Smith is your typical Hollywood script with very little in originality and it doesn't have enough going for it to make up for that. The characters are stale and never really interesting or too interesting. The comedy mostly falls flat with every so often a decent laugh and most of the laughs are due to how lame a lot of the jokes are.
Director Fred Wolf never manages to bring much to the table; the set up on the comedy is weak and there the pacing at times can lag. In fairness the script was quite weak and therefore not all the blame can be put on Fred Wolf, but the little he's given to work with he never makes much out of it. As I stated the concept for The House Bunny is very clichéd and Fred Wolf delivers your standard social misfit comedy and never attempts to mix things up.
About the only positive thing I can really say is the performances weren't bad. Anna Faris plays the slightly offbeat and a bit of an airhead character she's known for and I suppose if you like Anna Faris you'll probably enjoy the movie on some level. I think she's a decent actress and all, but I'm not really into her movies outside of the cult classic May. But overall Faris does well and Emma Stone and Kat Dennings manage to make a little more of their characters than what they were given, but the 2nd half of the movie Dennings barley does anything. Colin Hanks also does well in a wasted role. The real bright spots in the cast were Christopher McDonald who's an excellent character actor and while a lot of people may not know his name he's an actor that you will recognize right away and Beverly D'Angelo as the snooty House Mother is solid in an underwritten role. The man himself Hugh Hefner appears in a small role as does Tyson Ritter lead singer of the All-American Rejects
Overall The House Bunny is an average at best movie; while there's no real stand out scenes it's watchable, but very forgettable. This might play well with its target audience, but I'd advise the rest to skip and just wait for it to air on cable. The House Bunny I suppose works well on a rainy day with nothing better to do, but while watchable it's very forgettable.
Thge Blu-ray looks quite sharp with the picture quality and the sound is also solid. I didn't get a chance to go through much of the features since I didn't like the movie enough to check them out, but there are some behind the scenes features and a music video by Katharine McPhee
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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