The House Bunny (2008)

Rubber faced knock-out Anna Faris has certainly carved out an interesting niche for herself in Hollywood. Physically a male fantasy Faris could probably do all right for herself if she didn’t have a lot of talent, but the girls got old school comic chops of the pitfall variety, that have caused some to say she is the closest thing we have to a modern day Lucille Ball or Carole Lombard. Faris, who is well aware of how to use her looks for maximum comic effect, conceived of the idea for this film after wondering what happens to all the former playboy bunnies after they leave the mansion. The story has Faris playing Shelly, one such bunny forced to leave the mansion (where her character has lived since age 18) and make it on her own. She ends up house mother to a group of socially awkward sorority sisters who hope some of her magic with the boys will rube off on them. So predictably Shelly helps make the girls look prettier (and thusly more self confident) and they help her get a little smarter (and thusly more self confident). I suppose the message might be a little offensive if the film didn’t champion girls achieving a happy medium between their looks and their brains, you know, be yourself type stuff. Anyway Faris gets most of the laughs in the film, though I wish there were more, and future viewers may just find the movie most interesting for featuring a number of up-and coming young actresses as the sorority sisters (including Rumor Willis, Emma Stone, and American Idol winner Katharine McPhee). Also Colin Hanks has a nice turn as Farris’s well adjusted love interest, and Beverly D’Angelo appears on screen for what feels like the first time in a decade. Likable enough, 2 ½ out of 5. If you see the movie on DVD be sure to watch the last deleted scene (an alternate beginning) that’s actually kind of profound.