The ladies of Playboy are often stereotyped as beautiful, sweet and rather simple, intellectually speaking. The House Bunny, Columbia Pictures’ new comedy, doesn’t stray far that model. Though the film makes an effort towards greater emotional depth, it doesn’t quite achieve its goal. Anna Faris is a hoot, but the rest of the film falls short of her example.
Shelley (Faris) is blissfully living her dream in the Playboy Mansion. When she is suddenly ejected from the household, Shelley wanders Los Angeles looking for a new home. She stumbles onto a college campus and finds the answer to her prayers: sorority houses! Shelley becomes the housemother of the struggling Zeta Alpha Zetas, who are desperately in need of her makeover skills. If they can get 30 new pledges, they can save their house and maybe learn about themselves in the process.
That the plot of The House Bunny is completely ridiculous is a given — I doubt anyone in the audience walked in expecting to see gritty realism — but there is a level of artifice that makes the suspension of disbelief difficult. The characters are exaggerated types: the smart one, the political one, the evil queen bee and so on. The film is a fantasy, which is made more obvious by Shelley’s occasional voiceover references to fairytales. Life in the Playboy Mansion is even depicted as an idyllic home full of good cheer and lots of love, a place where any girl could live happily ever after.
Kristen Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz, the authors of The House Bunny, portray this fairytale mindset in their other films such as Legally Blonde and other cute girl power flicks. Much like its predecessor Legally Blonde, The House Bunny comes with a message: Be yourself and you can do anything — as long as your hair is shiny and your makeup is perfect. The House Bunny also stresses the importance of great parties and popularity in achieving success, which seems to undermine the intended message of the film while simultaneously reinforcing Greek life stereotypes. Despite the flawed message, however, the film is earnest in its delivery and ultimately kind-hearted.
Anna Faris is the heart of the film. She generates nearly all the laughs. Faris always commits completely to a role, as in her character in all four Scary Movies, and she plays dumb extremely well. When she isn’t on screen, boredom instantly sets in; Anna Faris is the reason to see The House Bunny.
Even though Faris is clearly the star of the film, the rest of the cast is likeable. Emma Stone and Kat Dennings are actresses on the rise that are worth watching. American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee and The All-American Rejects’ front man Tyson Ritter offer up capable, if somewhat odd, performances. Christopher McDonald and Beverly D’Angelo are comedy veterans who don’t disappoint. Colin Hanks is pleasant enough as Shelley’s love interest, but he doesn’t really make that much of an impression.
Overall, The House Bunny is exactly what you would expect: It’s cute and light and pretty funny. There’s no way it will become a comedy classic, but it won’t induce the same kind of disgusted shudders as something like Step Brothers either. If you’re in the mood for cinematic cotton candy, go ahead and see The House Bunny. Just don’t forget your water bra.
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