DVD Reviews

The House Bunny – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Dec 30, 2008, 14:40 GMT

Shelley (Ana Faris) 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. ...more

NERDS!!  Ooops, wrong movie.  A Playboy bunny is kicked out of Hef’s mansion and finds her true calling being housemother for a group of down on their luck fraternity sisters. 

It may seem like other college flicks but Anna Faris has a certain ditzy charm as the lead, as well as being smokin’ hot.  

Shelley (Anna Faris) has finally found where she belongs.  It’s at the Playboy mansion where she takes care of the other bunnies and dreams of being a centerfold.  The day after her 27th birthday celebration blowout at the mansion she awakens to find that there’s a note asking her to leave. 

She wanders around town distraught until she sees some other girls that look like her type and she follows them back to their “mansion.”  It turns out the girls are in a college fraternity, but when Shelley asks to live there she’s dismissed by the rude Ashley (Sarah Wright) and housemother Mrs. Hagstrom (Beverly D’Angelo) of Phi Iota Mu. 

Someone does suggest that she try Zeta Alpha Zeta since their housemother has been hospitalized with hallucinations.  The Zetas are a frat of misfit girls who if they don’t get thirty pledges by the end of the semester will loose their charter and house. 

The ditzy Shelley is just the ticket to popularity and those thirty pledges so Natalie (Emma Stone) lets her become their housemother.  The rest of the Zetas are the terminally shy Lilly (Kiely Williams), the pregnant Harmony (Katharine McPhee), the brace wearing Joanne (Rumer Willis), the pierced Goth Mona (Kat Dennings), the short Tanya (Kimberly Makkouk), and the tomboyish Carrie Mae (Dana Goodman). 

Shelley also becomes attracted to Oliver (Colin Hanks), who works at a nursing home.  Shelley does begin to work her “magic” and turns the wallflowers into hot chicks, but the devious Mu’s still have a trick or two up their sleeve.  

Some gents will be disappointed in that this film’s title character is a Playboy bunny and its rated PG-13.  No naughty bits for you lads.  Though I’ll admit that Anna Faris is rather fetching in her short shorts and slutty outfits.  Not only that but she also has a clueless charm as the bubble brained Shelley.  I guess my problem with the film may have been the well-worn plot. 

I shouted “Nerds!” at the beginning of the review because the film certainly seems like someone took that screen play, scratched out nerds, and put “bunny” in there instead.  I was more interested in the fact that our nerdy reject girls are basically led down a path to become more like the Mu’s and that’s the polar opposite of their personalities in the beginning. 

The girls do catch on to this, but it’s later in the film and seems like an afterthought.  The comedy is rather broad with several of the young gals going way over the top (Carrie Ann, I’m talking to you) and a generous amount of doo-doo jokes. 

We’re not exactly talking about cutting edge comedy here.  However, there are some laughs to be found.  It also seems like Adam Sandler, whose Happy Madison production company made the film, went to some of his famous pals and asked to borrow their kids - Rumer is the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore and Colin Hanks is the son of Tom Hanks.  It’s nothing new, but House Bunny does have some laughs if you’re not expecting too much.  

The House Bunny is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  Special features include 12 minutes of deleted scenes, 53 minutes of “making of” featurettes, a 30 second introduction to the 2 minute “I Know What Boys Like” music video, and previews of other Sony releases.  

The House Bunny benefits from the casting of Anna Faris, but the plot is old hat.  Will that matter?  I doubt it since Faris’ hotness is the definite renting point for the male population.  I know it didn’t hurt when I watched the film.  The female empowerment plotline seems a bit forgotten as we watch Faris’ goofy charm flash across the screen… as well as her other bits.  

The House Bunny is now available at Amazon. It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a Feb. 9th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.