The House Bunny (2008)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Fred Wolf

Writers (WGA):

Karen McCullah Lutz (written by) &
Kirsten Smith (written by)

Release Date:

22 August 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

For the girls of ZETA house college life was no party, until Shelley showed up.

Plot:

When Shelly, a Playboy bunny, is tossed out of the mansion, she has nowhere to go until she falls in with the sorority girls from Zeta Alpha Zeta. The members of the sorority - who also have got to be the seven most socially clueless women on the planet - are about to lose their house. They need a dose of what only the eternally bubbly Shelley can provide... but they will each learn on their own to stop pretending to be what others want them to be and start being themselves.

Plot Keywords:

Sorority | Playboy | Playboy Bunny | Party | Playboy Mansion

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Anna Faris	...	Shelley Darlingson
Colin Hanks	...	Oliver
Emma Stone	...	Natalie
Kat Dennings	...	Mona
Hugh M. Hefner	...	Himself (as Hugh Hefner)
Christopher McDonald	...	Dean Simmons
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Mrs. Hagstrom
Katharine McPhee	...	Harmony
Rumer Willis	...	Joanne
Kiely Williams	...	Lilly
Dana Goodman	...	Carrie Mae
Kimberly Makkouk	...	Tanya
Monet Mazur	...	Cassandra
Tyson Ritter	...	Colby
Sarah Wright	...	Ashley

Also Known As:

I Know What Boys Like (USA) (working title)
Untitled Anna Faris Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sex-related humor, partial nudity and brief strong language.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44141) | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Ireland:12A | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Malaysia:U (cut) | Peru:14 | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:M | Finland:S | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures

Trivia:

Some scenes were shot at the actual Playboy Mansion.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the sorority car wash scene, Natalie deliberately turns the water hose on her shorts. At first, the wet area is very large and soaked but when the camera cuts away for a fraction of a second and cuts back to her, the wet area shows just a few traces.

Quotes:

Shelley: My heart is pounding like a nail!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Girls Next Door: House Bunnies (#5.0)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

I Want Candy

Anna Faris makes this movie watchable, likable, and enjoyable for anyone, even guys.

Let me just say that I'm 19, a guy, and straight, and DAMN was I having a great time watching The House Bunny. To sum it up, THB is basically an Adam Sandler movie for girls, with Anna Faris breathing life into an otherwise flat movie with her uncanny comic ability and unbeatable charm. In short, she makes the movie watchable, and in some moments, likable and entertaining.

I see this film as one that most will easily dismiss without a second look, and I really discourage you from doing that. Anna Faris alone deserves your attention in this movie, as she is brilliant. I even heard a few people in my theater say that she could get a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy. I honestly wouldn't be surprised. She's lovable, adorable, intelligently stupid, and of course, roll on the floor hilarious. She's the reason the Scary Movie series is so much 'better' than the other movies in that series (Date, Superhero, Epic Movies), and her charm and charisma carries over here.

In addition to Faris, the strength of the film is the supporting cast (except Hugh Hefner, who gets a pass for simply being Hugh Hefner). The funny thing is, most of the performers aren't even actors. I'm not going to lie and say Rumer Willis is brilliant, because she's not, but she's funny and is good looking enough to surprise us. Katharine McPhee doesn't get enough screen time, but she does do a great job with what she's given. The last of the 'non-actors' is the frontman for The All American Rejects, Tyson Ritter, who is tolerable in a bit part.

Now, unsurprisingly, the best supporters are Kat Dennings and the WONDERFUL Emma Stone (Jules from Superbad). Stone is so likable and adorable that she's the best character in the movie after Faris. Colin Hanks is...well, I for one was surprised that he did this movie, but he was an asset nonetheless.

I'll go ahead and get my complaints out now. First and foremost, whoever edited this movie is absolutely terrible. Whether it be changing hairstyles, continuity errors, or bad cuts, the editing is noticeably bad, especially towards the end. I also didn't like the direction the script took in the end, as it turned the film into a parody of itself (which was weird considering the entire film was a parody of stupid girls and stupid men), and displayed several out of character moments. The jokes were a tad lame and predictable outside of Faris's character (there was NOTHING bad about her), but it was okay. There were some smart jokes that actually took some time to get.

The final plus for this movie is that it is LOADED with cameos. Since you know who the production company is, you already know the group that will be appearing, plus a surprise appearance from 2 NFL quarterbacks (one retired QB, and one current) in the beginning. All in all, The House Bunny is surprisingly funny, all because of Anna Faris and Emma Stone, both of whom have very bright futures ahead of them. Faris is definitely one of the funniest ladies alive.