Without Anna Faris - undoubtedly the best thing in Scary Movies - this would be just another superficial wheeze about the perils of superficiality.
The House Bunny (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:120
Fresh:47
Rotten:73
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Anna Faris is game, but she can't salvage this middling, formulaic comedy.
Australian Rating: M [See Full Rating] Infrequent coarse language and sexual references
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Genre: Comedies
Australian Theatrical Release:
Sep 25, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $48,237,389
Synopsis: Comic actress Anna Faris (LOST IN TRANSLATION, SCARY MOVIE) shines in her starring turn in THE HOUSE BUNNY, a hilarious and heartfelt tale of female empowerment. As the film opens, Shelly... Comic actress Anna Faris (LOST IN TRANSLATION, SCARY MOVIE) shines in her starring turn in THE HOUSE BUNNY, a hilarious and heartfelt tale of female empowerment. As the film opens, Shelly Darlingson (Farris) is Big Bunny on Campus at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion. With her 27th birthday approaching, Shelly eagerly anticipates fulfilling her dream: to be centerfold of the month. But when she learns that she's being booted from Bunnyland, Shelly finds herself with no family or place to call home. Desperate for both, she lucks across the socially inept sisters of the Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority. With no hope of attracting new pledges and the consequent threat of losing their sorority, the girls of Zeta take in the bubbly Shelly as their new "house mother." Shelly immediately sets to work helping the Zetas bring out their inner glamazons, luring in boys while drawing the ire of rival sorority Phi Iota Mu. Shelly also catches the eye of Oliver (Colin Hanks), who forces her to realize that it will take more her Playboy Mansion ways to win over a good man. Plus, Shelly discovers that her social insights have transformed the Zetas into the very superficial types they once railed against. And when Hugh Hefner calls to offer Shelly her dream centerfold shoot, she must choose between returning to the family that loved her best and saving the family that needs her most. Faris (who co-produced the film) is a comic delight as Shelly, with a perfect blend of sexy charm and sweet-natured cluelessness. Supported by an excellent cast of fresh faces and seasoned veterans, THE HOUSE BUNNY is an irresistible tale of inner beauty and "sisters" sticking together. [More]
Starring: Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Katharine McPhee
Starring: Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Katharine McPhee, Rumer Willis, Beverly D'Angelo
Director: Fred Wolf
Director: Fred Wolf
Screenwriter: Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
Producer: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Allen Covert, Heather Parry
Composer: Waddy Wachtel
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Reviews for The House Bunny
For all Faris's buoyancy, this is nowhere near as good as Legally Blonde, or all the other vaguely grrl-power teen movies it mimics.
But there is a lunatic sense of adventure about Fred Wolf’s saucy comedy, and it smothers all sorts of unforgiveable sins.
This tale of a 'Playboy' bunny would be flopsy mopsy without Anna Faris.
This aims for ‘Legally Blonde’/‘Mean Girls’ status, but ends up being a throwaway, if entertaining, plea for casting directors to start taking Faris more seriously.
God bless Anna Faris, who’s so good that the second star at the bottom of this review is entirely down to her. Otherwise, this Bunny would be headed for the vet.
Hefner resembles a benign zombie these days and no doubt was pleasured by the free publicity for Playboy.
Faris's Marilyn Monroe-inspired breathy delivery feels forced and gets old fast. Only the scene-stealing Emma Stone shows any promise.
It takes sexism to a new low, and it manages to attack women in the last place on earth where they continue to outperform men -- in universities.
Fans of comedies like Legally Blonde and Mean Girls should get a kick out of Anna Faris' amusing starring vehicle, even if this one isn't quite as sly or slickly produced.
The House Bunny manages the near impossible: to undercut the dignity of the Playboy brand.
For something that looked as potentially stupid as it did in the trailers, you'll be laughing a heck of a lot.
...breezy and banal...hops nowhere particularly interesting. Overall, there's nothing whimsical, fuzzy or provocative about this chosen Bunny.
a mixed message designed to sell what it purports to subvert, also known as having it both ways
One of the misfits is told by Anna Faris to try to strike up a conversation with some boys, so she goes over and says, 'Where's the crapper?' Credible? Funny? Not.
...there's a reason the movie's impossible not to like, and her name is Anna Faris...
Anna Farris is so perfect in the title role that she alone makes this a movie worth watching
[Faris] gives an A performance in the kind of farce from which she's more than ready to graduate.
Latest News for The House Bunny
October 07, 2009:
Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
After kicking off her movie career in Superbad as the high-school hottie throwing the cool party, Emma Stone is rapidly carving a niche for herself as a young actress with good... More...
January 07, 2009:
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December 15, 2008:
RT on DVD: Mummy 3, Grindhouse on Blu-ray!
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September 24, 2008:
The Anna Faris House Bunny Philosophy Of Sexy Interview: 'Cover'ed For Playboy ![]()
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