MOVIE
REVIEW: THE HOUSE BUNNY

08/21/08

SYNOPSIS: Shelley is living a carefree life until a rival gets her
tossed out of the Playboy Mansion. With nowhere to go, fate
delivers her to the sorority girls from Zeta Alpha Zeta.
Unless they can sign a new pledge class, the seven socially
clueless women will lose their house to the scheming girls
of Phi Iota Mu. In order to accomplish their goal, they need
Shelley to teach them the ways of makeup and men; at the
same time, Shelley needs some of what the Zetas have -- a
sense of individuality. The combination leads all the girls
to learn how to stop pretending and start being themselves.
REVIEW: “The eyes
are the nipples of the face.” Yeah, this is what you’re
gonna get throughout . . . silly, silly fun. By the way,
this is a Happy Madison Production which for comedy fans
would be good news. Well, there are some very funny moments
and the premise sounds entertaining enough, but it just
misses true Happy Madison caliber. I’ve always been a fan of
Anna Faris and I was looking forward to seeing her in her
first real starring role, especially something like this
which is right up her ally. She wasn’t exactly over the top
fantastic but she held her own and really made the movie
worthwhile. She is very good at playing ditsy and she has a
proven record for comedic mastery. Her line delivery and
facial expressions are some of her top talents. In this film
she also throws in a heavy dose of sexiness which I always
knew she could pull off. The fact that I think she’s
adorable helps influence my opinion. Did I just admit that
out loud? Anyhow, she is in great shape and looks very hot
playing this character. Guys, come on, the background of the
story is all about Playboy Playmates and Bunnies, Hugh
Hefner, and the Playboy Mansion. Of course the eye candy
abounds in this movie, Anna Faris included. Ok, wait a tick,
gorgeous, ditsy blonde leaves Playboy Mansion, goes to a
college and ends up helping everybody around her including
herself . . . this sounds like Legally Blonde meets The
Girls Next Door.
Enough about Anna, though, I mean there were other people in
the movie too. Colin Hanks, for example, plays Oliver who
catches Shelley’s (Anna) eye. He did a decent job. The Zeta
house misfits include the likes of Natalie (Emma Stone),
Mona (Kat Dennings), Joanne (Rumer Willis, yeah Bruce’s
daughter, uh huh), and even Katharine McPhee playing a
character appropriately named Harmony. These are some of the
bunch and they all gave pretty good performances but Emma
stands out and was just as sharp as Anna. It was nice to see
Beverly D’Angelo on the big screen again. She plays Mrs.
Hagstrom, a snooty sorority house mother. With a story like
this one you would expect the variety of characters to be
like a melting pot and this piece of work does not fall
short. The storyline for this picture is simple and
predictable but improved by the Happy Madison flare for the
absurd. One of the weaker aspects of the film is the script.
Again, the movie had its really funny moments but at other
times the dialogue was too corny. Luckily the good funny
moments were well spread out so that just as you are about
to get turned off by the movie, one of those moments would
pop up to keep you going. The appropriate musical selection
for the soundtrack also helped entertain.
Fred Wolf has been involved as a writer and/or actor in such
works as Black Sheep, Joe Dirt, Dickie Roberts, Without a
Paddle, and Strange Wilderness. With these comedic
credentials, he has the experience to crank out some good
stuff as director. This being only his second gig as
director, there is room for improvement but he is on the
right track. If you are a fan of these kinds of comedies or
if you are a fan of Anna Faris, you might want to check this
one out.
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
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