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The House Bunny

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The House Bunny (2008)

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Reviews Counted:21

Fresh:7

Rotten:14

Average Rating:5.1/10

Consensus: Anna Faris is game, but she can't salvage this middling, formulaic comedy.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for sex-related humor, partial nudity and brief strong language.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Aug 22, 2008 Wide

Box Office: $48,237,389

Synopsis: Comic actress Anna Faris (LOST IN TRANSLATION, SCARY MOVIE) shines in her starring turn in THE HOUSE BUNNY, a hilarious and heartfelt tale of female empowerment. As the film opens, Shelly... Comic actress Anna Faris (LOST IN TRANSLATION, SCARY MOVIE) shines in her starring turn in THE HOUSE BUNNY, a hilarious and heartfelt tale of female empowerment. As the film opens, Shelly Darlingson (Farris) is Big Bunny on Campus at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion. With her 27th birthday approaching, Shelly eagerly anticipates fulfilling her dream: to be centerfold of the month. But when she learns that she's being booted from Bunnyland, Shelly finds herself with no family or place to call home. Desperate for both, she lucks across the socially inept sisters of the Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority. With no hope of attracting new pledges and the consequent threat of losing their sorority, the girls of Zeta take in the bubbly Shelly as their new "house mother." Shelly immediately sets to work helping the Zetas bring out their inner glamazons, luring in boys while drawing the ire of rival sorority Phi Iota Mu. Shelly also catches the eye of Oliver (Colin Hanks), who forces her to realize that it will take more her Playboy Mansion ways to win over a good man. Plus, Shelly discovers that her social insights have transformed the Zetas into the very superficial types they once railed against. And when Hugh Hefner calls to offer Shelly her dream centerfold shoot, she must choose between returning to the family that loved her best and saving the family that needs her most. Faris (who co-produced the film) is a comic delight as Shelly, with a perfect blend of sexy charm and sweet-natured cluelessness. Supported by an excellent cast of fresh faces and seasoned veterans, THE HOUSE BUNNY is an irresistible tale of inner beauty and "sisters" sticking together. [More]

Starring: Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Katharine McPhee

Starring: Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Katharine McPhee, Rumer Willis, Beverly D'Angelo

Director: Fred Wolf

Director: Fred Wolf
Screenwriter: Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
Producer: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Allen Covert, Heather Parry
Composer: Waddy Wachtel
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Dec 19, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • 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.
  • Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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    Reviews for The House Bunny

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    The result isn't very funny, and its sexual politics are as muddled as you'd expect, but Faris is sweet and likable as the sort of wise dumbbell Judy Holliday used to play.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
    12/17/08
    J. R. Jones
    J. R. Jones
    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    [Faris] gives an A performance in the kind of farce from which she's more than ready to graduate.

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    08/28/08
    Lisa Schwarzbaum
    Lisa Schwarzbaum
    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The House Bunny gets the difference between being openhearted and empty-headed.

    Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    Stephanie Zacharek
    Stephanie Zacharek
    Salon.com
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Puts a cheerful spin on its many cliches. This particular wheel hasn't been reinvented, but at least it gets a nice fresh coat of bubblegum-pink paint and a star to pilot it with aplomb.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    Nathan Lee
    Nathan Lee
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    House Bunny's Legally Blonde roots show.

    Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment 1 Comment
    08/22/08
    Joanne Kaufman
    Joanne Kaufman
    Wall Street Journal
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The House Bunny may be what some boys like, but there are doubtless moviegoers out there of both sexes who would like to see Faris hop into some decent onscreen material.

    Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    Linda Barnard
    Linda Barnard
    Toronto Star
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The plot is beyond predictable. Seriously, write down every scene from Legally Blonde and Revenge of the Nerds on index cards, shuffle and then deal your movie.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    Peter Hartlaub
    Peter Hartlaub
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    [A] hodgepodge of unfunny, sophomoric humor and PG-13 T&A, frosted by a sheen of appallingly nauseous 'drama.'

    Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    James Berardinelli
    James Berardinelli
    ReelViews
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    This is pretty much a one-woman show for Faris, and she doesn't get much help from director Fred Wolf.

    Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    Lou Lumenick
    Lou Lumenick
    New York Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Somebody, somewhere save Anna Faris.

    Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    Joe Neumaier
    Joe Neumaier
    New York Daily News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    In The House Bunny, Anna Faris steps up to her first full-fledged leading role and falls right on her adorable face.

    Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    Colin Covert
    Colin Covert
    Minneapolis Star Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Factory made, nothing new... and really funny.

    Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    Michael Ordoña
    Michael Ordoña
    Los Angeles Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The transformed Shelley loses some of her Tammy Faye eyeliner but little of her precious dimness, careful not to violate the broad streak of anti-intellectualism that Hollywood has always reflected and reinforced in the American psyche.

    Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    Rick Groen
    Rick Groen
    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Say this for Faris: Even though The House Bunny may be, she's not -- dumb.

    Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    Adam Graham
    Adam Graham
    Detroit News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It doesn't turn any corners, it's lazy, and it's content to keep playing dumb long after it's really funny.

    Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
    08/22/08
    Wesley Morris
    Wesley Morris
    Boston Globe
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Despite a winning performance by Anna Faris, the film falls on its keister so many times that before long the perky pinkness turns bruising black-and-blue.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
    08/21/08
    Carrie Rickey
    Carrie Rickey
    Philadelphia Inquirer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The purpose of this comedy is to serve as a showcase for Anna Faris, whose sunny disposition and solid comic timing make The House Bunny more enjoyable than it ought to be.

    Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
    08/21/08
    Christy Lemire
    Christy Lemire
    Associated Press
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    By imposing a predictable message, it obscures the satire.

    Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
    08/21/08
    Claudia Puig
    Claudia Puig
    USA Today
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A terrific Anna Faris keeps this formulaic campus comedy hopping.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
    08/21/08
    Michael Rechtshaffen
    Michael Rechtshaffen
    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The House Bunny is a blissfully broad comedy that should catapult Anna Faris into a singular kind of stardom.

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    08/21/08
    John Anderson
    John Anderson
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
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