Customer Reviews

The House Bunny

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

When I first heard about this film, I was less than impressed and had no intentions of seeing it. Once, however, I saw the preview at another film, I decided to give it a try and I'm glad I did.

"The House Bunny" is a charming and funny little film starring Anna Faris as Shelly, a playboy bunny who lives a carefree life in Hugh Hefner's mansion. After her 27th birthday, she finds herself suddenly evicted from her perfect life, unaware of how she can make a living. When she stumbles onto a college campus and discovers that sororities slightly resemble her former playful lifestyle, she becomes determined to be the house mother of a failing sorority full of misfits and unpopular girls. Through her determined spirit, willingness to encourage others and using her sexuality in a positive way, Shelley works her magic and helps her girls to become of the belles of sorority row. And in the process, the young women teach Shelly some valuable lessons as well.

Faris gives a good comedic performance, giving the character a sweet, likeable naivety. I liked that the character wasn't bitchy or a diva, simply a kind girl who lived an exotic life but must now adjust to her new situation and envirnoment. The supporting cast is funny but the brunt of the film falls on Faris, who delivers and proves she can carry a film. Notable supporting characters include Rumor Willis (the daugther of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore)former American Idol alum, Kathernine McPhee and Colin Hanks, son of Tom Hanks.

This is a fun date movie and I recommend it as a perfect summer comedy movie. Worth a trip to the theater!

Well, I'm embarrassed to admit that I really enjoyed this silly movie. I hadn't intended to see it, but got pushed into watching it with my family. And I liked it better than they did! It was actually very sweet.

The plot, of course, is a cliche. Nerdy sorority is made cool by an ex-bunny. Not original. But it isn't meant to be. This whole thing is just a wonderful frame for the comedic talents of the people involved. We particularly enjoyed the scene where Shelley tries to act like Marilyn Monroe over the steam vent, and gets her knees badly steamed. That is just so silly that you have to laugh.

Also, at my house, we just find it so strange that the series "the girls next door," whose performers are in this film (the Faris role, Shelley, is supposed to be living at the Playboy Mansion as the movie opens), is one of the sweetest shows on TV. We expected trash, and were confounded by pleasant people that we genuinely like. So that predisposed us to like this film, too. There is a certain innocence to the whole thing.

So, I find myself in the position of recommending this film to anyone who enjoys silly comedy.

Anna Faris discovers a facet of method acting? Yes. Not since Christian Bale muscled up in order to one up Leo DiCaprio for the title role in American Psycho has someone altered their body so very dramatically for a role. The previous soft Anna has been replaced by the T-1000 Anna, hotter than ever, and funnier to boot.

As far as goofy comedies go, the writing was good. The plot was cute. The situations were were well-thought out and hilarious.

Shelley (Faris) I plays a wanna-be Playboy bunny who is cast from the Playboy Mansion after her 28th birthday. To put a roof over her head she takes a group of social outcast sorority sisters in need of a house mother under her wing and shows them the ropes of presenting themselves and talking to men. In turn the sisters teach her to an intellectual man (played by Colin Hanks).

The social blunders are numerous and the movie borrows heavily from Sorority Boys, in a good way.

Anna Faris was goofy in the Scary Movie series, good in Waiting, but has truly come into her own here. This is a must see.

The House bunny is a very good movie. It's a funny movie but I thought it would be funnier. Anna Faris is hilarious as normal and it has a great cast. I wish their was a little more comedy in this movie so that is why I gave it 4 stars but overall I think it is a really good movie.

Short Summary: Anna Faris gets kicked out of the bunny mansion so with no place to go she goes to a soriety house full of nerds to become their den mother. Can Anna Faris turns the soriety around to make the nerds become popular? Watch the movie to find out.

This movie is full of mishaps and comedy. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes a good comedy or to anyone who is a fan of Anna Faris.

What a light, funny and surprising treat! Well, I love Anna and am so glad to see her do this (reminds me greatly of a young Goldie Hawn) I was amazed how well Katherine McPhee did for her first time out, she is drop dead gorgeous and a rising star for sure. All the girls were good,we laughed and at one point I nearly laughed so hard I could have tinkled! Well worth the price of addmission and it's a shame it came out alongside Tropic Thunder etc as I am sure it would have done even better in the ratings. Took #2 and held for awhile so that was good! Go see it then buy it! Worth it!

Sure this flick is formulaic and derivative but I loved it. It's consistently funny and engaging and it'll make you grin from ear to ear. This film should have been the one to break Anna Faris big. Her Shelley may be a little vapid but she's no dumb bunny. Anybody who would typecast her as a dumb blonde should check her out in the underrated "My Super Ex-Girlfriend". Like Reese Witherspoon's Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde" this is the kind of role that should catapult her to better things. Not to be overlooked is Emma Stone as the wallflower president of the sorority that Shelley becomes housemother to. I was expecting a cliched girl nerd turn but Stone imbues Natalie with warmth and complexity. It was also pretty cool that Hugh Hefner is on hand to take a self-deprecating portrayal of his image. The only debit here is stiff as wood Colin Hanks as Shelley's perfunctory love interest. Hanks may have inherited his dad's vocal ticks but has nil of his acting chops. I saw this on a sick day and it was just what the doctor ordered.

I have a confession to make. Listen closely because, after this, I will never repeat this sentence, ever again: I secretly love screenwriters Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz, the two women who not only wrote this screenplay, but also She's the Man and 10 Things I Hate About You, among others. These stories aren't by any means the kinds of movies I usually watch, unless I'm dragged to them. But, for some reason or another, the humor contained within each tugs at my funny bone.

Now, for another not-so-secret mention: I love Anna Faris. I think she has terrific comedic timing and while she might be a one-trick pony in her character choices, she plays them very, very well. And she consistently makes me laugh. I mention this because, when the three women above are placed together, I will surely follow. And follow I did.

House Bunny is one of those stupidly funny movies that qualifies as being a guilty pleasure. We've seen this story told a hundred times and it doesn't do anything new or add anything substantial to the formula. But it is filled with laughs, oddly endearing characters and provides Anna Faris the ability to do what she does best: making dumb characters funny and lovable.

This should be a movie rated far below what I gave it, but I'm sticking to my guns. I mean, you obviously can't compare it to other great films out there. And it's definitely not comparable to other movies I've seen this summer that I might give the same rating to. But in the genre of dumb anti-feminist female brings a sorority house to greatness, it's the tops...

Take that as you will.

It's funny. 90% of the jokes work, even if it's not Woody Allen-style humor, OK?

Anna Faris has proven herself as a female funnylady, and Emma Stone more than holds her own. Don't hold it against it that it's a Happy Madison production.

I remembered seeing previews for this movie and probably would've seen it in theaters if the town I lived in actually had one. But we don't so I forgot all about it until I saw it at a convenience store while I was paying for gas. I didn't pick it up that day but went back a couple months later and purchased it. It sat on my shelf with my other movies until this morning when I decided to watch it. Honestly, I thought it might be one of those movies where the best part of it is the previews so I went into it expecting a really lame, stupid movie. But I was pleasantly surprised. It's not the best movie ever but it's not terrible either. It made me laugh but that's not very hard to do since I'm fairly easily amused. I identified with Shelley a lot because, like her, I was an outcast throughout my life. I still am sort of but that's beside the point. This movie doesn't have an original plot and it uses the same formula as other movies have in the past but it works. I love this movie!

The minute Shelly ended up in the Zetas' sorority house, I couldn't help but remember back to another college film, Revenge of the Nerds, which came out back in '85. House Bunny seems almost the sorority counterpart of the fraternity-oriented Revenge of the Nerds, in that basically a group of students down on their luck manage to make themselves over and become more cool than their tormentors... and the film is about as risque as its 80s male counterpart. But there the similarities really end, because the plots are different.

House Bunny is an enjoyable movie if you're amused by a ditzy-acting blonde teaching "sexy smarts" to a bunch of university misfits. Revenge of the Nerds broke new ground back in '85 when it made nerdliness cool, but Faris' Shelly and appearances by Hugh Hefner himself define House Bunny as anything but a me-too film.