Three out of four stars (Rated PG-13 for sex-related humor, brief partial nudity, and brief strong language) Running time: 98 minutes. Reviewed at The Woodlands Tinseltown 17 on August 22.
Cobbled together in formulaic fashion from other college comedies—“Legally Blonde,” “Old School,” “Animal House,” and “Revenge of the Nerds” come to mind—the cute but oft-times brain-dead “The House Bunny” serves mainly as a showcase for the comedic talents of its star, Anna Faris.
To be fair, however, I heard a lots of laughter at the not quite packed opening show, consisting of younger audience members sneaking in one last movie before school re-opens on Monday. For an old grunt like me, the cornball jokes weren’t exactly knee-slappers, but 40 years ago during the Johnson administration I could see myself enjoying this kind of movie, if they made this kind of movie 40 years ago.
But the highlight of “The House Bunny” remains Ms. Faris, best known as the Cindy Campbell character in the “Scary Movie” parody series. She does yeoman work playing a blonde ditz named Shelley, orphaned at birth, who takes up residence as a Bunny at the Playboy Mansion. “This is where I want to live happily ever after,” she narrates in fairytale fashion at the opening.
Shelley’s aspires to be a centerfold, but the morning after her 27th birthday bash she gets a “Dear Shelley” letter from Hugh Hefner that in no uncertain terms tells her to clear out of the Mansion immediately. Shelley should have contacted EEOC to launch an age discrimination suit against the adult entertainment mogul, but a co-worker explains, “27—that’s 59 in Bunny years.” Oh.
Hefner appears several times in the movie, looking more these days like Congressman Ron Paul than he does Hugh Hefner. Hef actually has a funny scene lamenting Shelley’s departure by downing carton after carton of Haagen-Dazs.
After a night in the pokey, the homeless Shelley stumbles upon the Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority house at a nearby college campus. This is the loser house, consisting of seven misfits including the bespectacled Lindsay Lohan clone Natalie (Emma Stone), a pierced Goth girl (Kat Dennings), a crude bumpkin (Dana Goodman), and a girl in a metal body cast (Rumer Willis, daughter of Bruce and Demi).
Shelley becomes the sorority housemother and is immediately faced with several challenges. First, the Zetas have to increase their size from seven to thirty or lose the house charter. Then it has to contend with another sorority led by the ruthless Ashley (Sarah Wright).
First things first, however: Ms. Faris takes a shower and drops her towel, giving dirty old men like me in the audience a fleeting glance of her posterior. “I’m walking around with the body God and Dr. Borkman gave me,” she explains. Oh.
Of course the seven sisters all undergo makeovers that turn them into campus babes. Suddenly Zeta Alpha Zeta becomes a party palace, much to the chagrin of the rival sorority.
Shelley develops a budding love interest with Oliver (Colin Hanks), a nursing home operator. There’s a funny scene in which the sorority sisters dance up a storm with the nursing home denizens.
By the way, the first and only time we see a classroom takes place at the 65- minute mark.
Faris shows potential to be a top-notch comedienne. She just needs better material than this stuff. Think of it as “Beach Blanket Bingo” for Generation Why.
