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The House Bunny

 
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The House Bunny

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  • Director: Fred Wolf
  • AMG Rating: starstarstar
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Movie Type: Comedy of Manners, Romantic Comedy
  • Themes: Journey of Self-Discovery, Underdogs, College Life
  • Main Cast: Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Katharine McPhee
  • Release Year: 2008
  • Country: US
  • Run Time: 98 minutes
  • MPAA Rating: PG13

Plot

When Playboy playmate Shelley (Anna Faris) is unceremoniously evicted from Hugh Hefner's lavish mansion in order to make room for some younger beauties, her quest for employment finds her serving as den mother to an unpopular L.A. sorority in this Happy Madison production directed by Fred Wolf. Colin Hanks, Rumer Willis, Katharine McPhee, Monet Mazur, and Beverly D'Angelo co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Review

Awesome, raucous, and totally hilarious, The House Bunny breaks brave new ground by being completely typical. Allow me to explain. Hollywood is just about full to the brim with heavyweight comedians who mostly make their careers on vehicle movies written just for them to show up and work their schtick. Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Jack Black -- these funnymen have brought such a sense of commonality to comedy that they're collectively known as the Frat Pack. That name probably originated with the 2003 hit Old School, but there's a much more obvious fraternal element with this collective: they're all dudes.

You don't see many ladies showing up routinely to play for the big laughs -- sometimes fate shines and we get Amy Poehler in a funny supporting role, but most of the time all we get is some romcom veteran gal playing straight to the boys' wacky hijinks, and maybe providing an old-fashioned screwball romantic foil if we're really lucky. It's not often that a chick holds down the whole central premise of the movie with her mighty and irreproachable comedic chops in the same format as Ferrell in Anchorman or Black in School of Rock, but that's just what the always-hilarious Anna Faris does here. Her performance as Shelley, a despondent former Playboy Bunny-turned-geek-sorority house mother does the classic role of the cheeky dumb blonde one better -- or more like ten better. The woman just has killer timing, and an innate comedic talent that makes Reese Witherspoon's turn in Legally Blonde look like just another girly actress keeping safe within the confines of cuteness. Despite playing a toned and tanned pinup, Faris tackles the jokes with such balls-out fearlessness that she leaves no doubt she is not playing for the powder-puff league.

And Faris isn't the only good thing about House Bunny; up-and-comer Emma Stone does an impressive job of playing a prototypical nerd girl, especially after appearing so convincingly as the ultra-cool sarcasm queen in Superbad. Christopher McDonald and Beverly D'Angelo also provide a few glimpses of extremely entertaining silliness as university administrators. But the movie does have its limitations. This isn't a genius script, and when the rest of the cast of sorority sisters are required to carry a scene, they can be a little flat. The movie also tries to shoehorn in a weird and pointless girl-power message that includes a very awkward music video presented over the closing credits. And, of course, this being a movie about sorority girls instead of fraternity guys, the story belies all the unapologetic goofiness of its genre by making the plot all about the pursuit of getting flowers -- rather than the pursuit of getting laid. But with all that it already is, we can't ask The House Bunny to be everything. All it really has to be is funny, and it passes that test with flying colors. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Cast

Rumer Willis - Joanne; Tyson Ritter - Colby; Christopher McDonald - Dean Simmons; Beverly D'Angelo - Mrs. Hagstrom; Hugh Hefner - Himself; Holly Madison - Herself; Kimberly Makkouk - Tanya; Monet Mazur - Cassandra; Dana Min Goodman - Carrie Mae; Kiely Williams - Lilly; Bridget Marquardt - Herself; Sarah Wright - Ashley; Rachel Specter - Courtney; Kendra Wilkinson - Herself; Owen Benjamin - Marvin

Credit

John Chichester - Art Director, Lisa London - Casting, Catherine Stroud - Casting, Debra James - Co-producer, Richard Rosenzweig - Co-producer, Jason Burns - Co-producer, Mona May - Costume Designer, Eric Tignini - First Assistant Director, Fred Wolf - Director, Debra Chiate - Editor, Karen McCullah Lutz - Executive Producer, Kirsten Smith - Executive Producer, Anna Faris - Executive Producer, Waddy Wachtel - Composer (Music Score), Michael Dilbeck - Musical Direction/Supervision, Brooks Arthur - Musical Direction/Supervision, Missy Stewart - Production Designer, Shelly Johnson - Cinematographer, Adam Sandler - Producer, Jack Giarraputo - Producer, Allen Covert - Producer, Heather Parry - Producer, Bill W. Benton - Sound/Sound Designer, Deb Adair - Sound/Sound Designer, Paul Eliopoulos - Stunts Coordinator, Karen McCullah Lutz - Screenwriter, Kirsten Smith - Screenwriter, George Cawood - Visual Effects Supervisor, Al Laverde - Key Grip, Kami Asgar - Supervising Sound Editor, Sean McCormack - Supervising Sound Editor, Tracy Doyle - Set Decorator

Similar Movies

Legally Blonde; Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde; Clueless; Born Yesterday; Troop Beverly Hills; Old School
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Wikipedia: The House Bunny
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The House Bunny

Film poster
Directed by Fred Wolf
Produced by Allen Covert
Anna Faris (executive)
Jack Giarraputo
Kirsten Smith(executive)
Karen McCullah Lutz(executive)
Written by Kirsten Smith
Karen McCullah Lutz
Starring Anna Faris
Colin Hanks
Emma Stone
Kat Dennings
Katharine McPhee
Hugh Hefner
Christopher McDonald
Beverly D'Angelo
Tyson Ritter
Rumer Willis
Music by Waddy Wachtel
Cinematography Shelly Johnson
Editing by Debra Chiate
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) August 22, 2008
Running time 94 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $25 million
Gross revenue $70,442,940

The House Bunny is a 2008 American romantic comedy film, directed by Fred Wolf. The film was written by Legally Blonde screenwriters Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz. The film had its US release on August 22, 2008 and stars Anna Faris, Katharine McPhee, Colin Hanks, Kat Dennings, and Emma Stone. It is the second film directed by Wolf[1]. The DVD and Blu-ray Disc was released on December 16, 2008.[2] Anna Faris stars as Shelley Darlington, a former Playboy bunny who signs up to be the new house mother at an unnamed university's nerdiest sorority, Zeta Alpha Zeta, after being kicked out of the Playboy Mansion.

Contents

Plot

Shelley Darlington (Anna Faris) is an aspiring Playboy Playmate living the life of luxury in the Playboy Mansion. The day after her twenty-seventh birthday, she awakes to find a note, seemingly from Hugh Hefner, asking her to pack up and leave because she is too old to be a Bunny now. Depressed, Shelley sets out on the road looking for a new life. She happens upon girls who remind her of herself: beautiful and fun. She follows them and sees that they live in luxury too. She tells them of her situation and asks to join them, not knowing that they are members of the Phi Iota Mu sorority; she is rejected by the snobbish Phis because she is not a student. She then sees there are older ladies called "house mothers" who live with the sorority sisters and watch over them, but after asking them to join, she is rejected again and told to inquire with the Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority.

The members of the Zeta house are dowdy and socially awkward; caught off guard by Shelley's bubbly nature, they initially reject her. Once they see that Shelley is able to attract boys and friends, however, the Zetas change their mind and take in Shelley as their new "house mother." Drawing on her years of experience as a Bunny, Shelley makes-over the Zetas and their house, turning them around and teaching them everything they need to know to surpass the other sororities on campus, most notably the rival Phis. In particular, Shelley becomes close with Natalie (Emma Stone), a bespectacled virgin who acts as leader of the Zetas. Natalie, who is secretly in love with a boy named Colby (Tyson Ritter), doesn't catch his attention until Shelley transforms the Zetas.

During her time spent with "The Zetas", Shelley meets an intellectual, altruistic guy named Oliver (Colin Hanks); although she can teach everyone else how to flirt, her attempts at doing so with Oliver blow up in her face. Shelley enlists the help of the Zeta sisters on what to do in order to socialize with Oliver, but her attempt at making herself over as a fellow intellectual prove similarly ineffective at winning him over. Embarrassed and hopeless, Shelley writes Oliver a fake goodbye letter and stops speaking to him.

Meanwhile, the Zeta girls become more popular on campus, until finally realizing that they completely changed themselves just to please other people. They blame it on Shelley, who leaves the house in tears. At the same time, Shelley gets a call from Hugh Hefner, informing her that his "letter" asking her to leave was falsified by a rival jealous Bunny who was a few months new; Hugh wants Shelley to return to the Mansion. It would seem perfect for her to go back to her old life, but when she tries, Shelley finds that she cares far too much for her Zeta girls, who apologize for their words and reciprocate the sentiment.

The Zetas, as it turns out, are in danger of losing their status as a sorority due to the Phis sabotaging their recruitment list; they need 30 pledges before the adjournment of the pan-hellenic council meeting on campus. Shelley returns to the Zetas and, together, they crash the meeting. Shelley gives a heartfelt speech about what her experience with the Zetas has taught her about love and acceptance, and a gradual total of 30 students in the audience agree to pledge the Zeta House, the 30th being a Phi girl wanting to join the Zetas. With the future of the Zetas secured, Natalie reveals that she contacted Oliver on Shelley's behalf; Oliver agrees to go out with Shelley again and try to get to know the "real" her. The film ends with Zetas and their new pledges celebrating and having fun together.

Cast

Soundtrack

There are no plans for a soundtrack to be released, a single from the film was released to iTunes on July 16, 2008.[citation needed] The single was a cover of The Waitresses song, "I Know What Boys Like", by Katharine McPhee (Featuring Kat Dennings, Emma Stone & Rumer Willis). The movie also featured songs by artists including:

Production

Faris had pitched the film's concept to a few companies and Happy Madison picked it up. The working title of the film was I Know What Boys Like. The film was made during Summer 2007.

Reception

Critical reception

Faris' performance was praised by most critics; however, the film itself received mixed reviews. It currently has 39% Rotten rating at Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus stating "Anna Faris is game, but she can't salvage this middling, formulaic comedy.[5] (Cult)ure film critic, Kevin Johns, suggested, "The House Bunny would have, perhaps, garnered more laughs if it had actually addressed just how difficult it is for young women to transform their identity, or if it dared to explore the challenge of finding that elusive balance between outer appearance and inner beauty... Instead, the film... tells a fairytale narrative in which any difficulties amalgamating looks with intellect can be overcome by a quick montage or, even worse, a 'Where My Zetas At?' hip-hop dance number."[6] Variety's John Anderson stated that this movie was a "Blissfully broad comedy that should catapult Anna Faris into a singular kind of stardom."[7] Another critic on Cinematical said, "Watching Faris prance about playing Playboy's dumbest blonde is worth the price of admission in itself, so go in with your brain on neutral and the movie for all it is: A simple, seductive, slice of late-summer sunshine."[8]

Box office

The House Bunny was released in the US on August 22, 2008. It debuted at #1 on its first day of release making $5.91 million, but ultimately landed in second place for its opening weekend, making $14.53 million [9], behind Ben Stiller's action-comedy picture Tropic Thunder, which made $16.27 million. As of March 22, 2009, the film had grossed $70 million worldwide ($48 million domestic and $22 million overseas).[10] The film debuted in the UK chart at #1 grossing almost $1 million in its first weekend.

Home media

The DVD and Blu-ray were released December 16, 2008. Both releases included deleted scenes, the music video for "I Know What Boys Like" with introduction, and seven featurettes.

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ The House Bunny. Amazon.com. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ ReelSoundtrack - Music Soundtrack - The House Bunny (2008)
  5. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/house_bunny/
  6. ^ http://www.culturemagazine.ca/content/view/336/54/
  7. ^ http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117938028.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
  8. ^ http://www.cinematical.com/2008/08/22/review-the-house-bunny/
  9. ^ http://blastmagazine.com/the-magazine/entertainment/2008/08/the-hollywood-charts-aug-24/
  10. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=housebunny.htm

External links

v • d • e
Films of Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith
Written
Written & produced
The House Bunny

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