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Techtite's DVD Reviews! |
"Overly predictable yet with a likeable cast; this is one of those late summer movies that could've been a blockbuster with just the tiniest spit and polish." --from the review ------------- Sidebar :: ------------- Playboy Bunny? Who? Where? As adorable as Anna Faris is, let's be honest; it's unlikely she's made many female friends at the Playboy Mansion; many of whom have waited years for a role tailor-made for them, only to see this role given to a relative newcomer, with no involvement with Playboy at all. Could they have at least cast an actress who wanted to give the part her all? Anna Faris said publicly that her singular nude scene was very "hard" for her, when by all accounts it was a split second butt scene, and even more obviously; it is clearly a body double. So the question I find myself asking is: as adorable as Anna Faris is, wasn't there at least one real-life Playboy bunny with tolerable acting skills, who deserved a breakthrough role such as this? Not a Bunny, So What? (The Other Argument...) On the other hand: while Faris is clearly no Playboy Bunny, both Anna and the movie make this into an added joke, not a detriment to the story. In many ways Anna is a nerd girl in her own right; a Playboy bunny who never really was, having stayed in the Playboy Mansion for 8 years and never been a centerfold. This makes her story blend perfectly with the other "nerd girls" in the story.
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The House Bunny
A Review by TechtiteHere's one of those late summer movies that could've been a blockbuster hit if they had just smoothened out a few rough edges. The premise: a homeless ex-Playboy Bunny stumbles across a nerdy sorority, where she quickly learns she needs them as much as they need her. It's a premise that is wholly predictable, though in a very funny way.The story? Well, what was already said above is pretty much it: Shelley (Anna Faris) is a 27 year old Playboy Bunny wannabe, who's lived all her adult life in the Playboy Mansion hoping to be "Miss November." Then one day she gets a letter saying she has to move out. She looks for similarly opulent homes she can live in, only to come across a group of "House Mothers" who look after the college sororities. Of course, Shelley is no House Mother, so the only sorority which might hire her is a soon-to-be-closed-down sorority of total losers, called the Zeta House. Can Shelley turn this house around? Well, let's put it this way; this wouldn't be much of a comedy if she couldn't! The rest of the movie plays out like a reverse-gender "Revenge of the Nerds." While this isn't surprising given the premise, what is surprising is that this film not only salutes "Nerds" admirably; it even improves on that film's bigger flaws. The original Nerds made the mistake of adding one too many characters who weren't terribly funny and were actually kind of creepy. Yet each of this film's "nerd girls" are brilliantly chosen and very likeable. One was placed in a back brace and is afraid she lacks the backbone to take it off; how metaphorically brilliant is this character? Another girl is so agoraphobic she hides in the closet and texts her friends outside; funny! The apparent "leader" of the sorority is the typical rubber-stamp nerd girl in movies, who wears glasses and has no idea that with one good salon makeover she'd be, quite frankly, a total hottie. Each sorority sister is extremely likeable, making us want them to succeed in saving their sorority...and inevitably, themselves. I know what you're asking at this point: if this film is so great, why was it number 4 on its opening weekend at the box office? Well, to be fair; I never said this film was great; just "good." This isn't backpedaling; just specifying. The problems begin when the film tries too hard to be a comedy for all audiences. Is this a chick flick, a date movie, or a college frat-boy-friendly comedy? The film never decides on a clear audience, and that's its Achilles' Heel. This story was never going to win the hearts of feminists who hate everything Playboy, so why try? As for date movies; the attempted subplot between Shelley and a brainy college boy (Colin Hanks) is just a few short minutes of the whole movie, which is sure to disappoint the date movie crowd. As for frat brothers looking for a cool movie about a half-naked Playboy chick; sorry! The only two-second nude scene is, frankly, an obvious body double. This isn't to say the film is a thumbs-down. Whenever this film tries to be a simple, reverse-gender Revenge of the Nerds, it succeeds. Take, for example, the obligatory climactic moment when the Zetas plead their case to save their sorority. They need one more pledge to save their house, and while you can probably guess if they are successful or not, the identity of this final pledge was my favorite part of the movie (as well as a prior "rejected" pledge which is hilarious). This moment is preceded by a slew of funny scenes for each character, especially the scenes immediately before and after each nerd girl's "transformation" into a cool girl. These are the moments that the whole film should have been like. Unfortunately, this film also tries to be another Pretty Woman ---nude Playboy model easily becomes collegiate House Mother--- and these are the moments where House Bunny fails. Much like the "hooker with a heart of gold" character that made Julia Roberts a star; one moment Shelley is "accidentally" trying to have sex with a police officer to get her way out of a speeding ticket. Minutes later she's wearing glasses and with an apparently college-level IQ. Huh?!? Then there are the running gags. I could've done without Shelley constantly deepening her voice to help her remember names. While it's funny the first time she does it, the joke quickly gets older than the crusty Jell-O cup you forgot in the back of your fridge. Much like that Jell-O cup; this joke should've been trashed. Yet such moments are tolerable thanks to all the laughs elsewhere, and a very likeable lead cast. Anna Faris may not have won many hearts with Playboy Playmates (see sidebar at right), though few can deny how perfectly she plays the role, even if she isn't perfect for the role. She's lovable, and as a result, so is the character, making us root for Shelley all the way. The same goes for every sorority sister in the Zeta house, especially the roles played by Eva Green and Rumor Willis, whose careers will (or at least should) get a boost thanks to this film. Is it rocket science? Of course not. Yet in a summer filled with movies that take themselves a tad too seriously, this is a cute comedy that's more than worth a matinee ticket. It's only flaw is how much better it could've been, had the scriptwriter chosen one finite audience to appeal to, and just gone with that. The resulting film may alienate more audiences than it appeals to, though it is often quite funny and filled with appealing characters, making it more than worth your time.
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