Shawn's House Bunny Review

2008 Movie #97 - The House Bunny

There is nothing I like more than when a movie surprises you. The good kind of surprise anyway. The kind where you are so positive going into a movie that it's going to be the biggest pile of garbage ever, then walk away from it pleasantly surprised. This was actually one of those movies for me. It was probably because I expected this to be possibly one of the worst movies of the year so far (and we all know that's saying a lot when you look at the list) and simply could not have had lower expectations for it. We were actually ashamed when we asked for the tickets, and also when we had to had them to the ticket ripper to get it. I'm probably going to catch some shit for this one, but in all honestly, this one ain't bad.

The first 5-10 minutes are pretty painful and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to make it through this one. However once things start to move along it becomes a lot easier to take. This movie is never fall down hilarious, it's just a pleasant enough movie to serve as a decent 90 minute distraction. It's predictable as all hell, with never any doubt where things will go, but the journey through all these things is never too bad.

The majority of this is thanks to Anna Faris in the lead role. The woman is funny and of course ridiculouly good lookng as well. So even if you're not laughing at what she's saying you get the pleasure of looking at her in some really skimpy outfits, and there ain't nothing wrong with that at all. It almost seemed like she improvised a lot of her dialogue. She is definitely the highlight of the movie and if pretty much anyone else had gotten her role, this movie could have been just fucking excrutiating.

The girls who play the sorority sisters are ok, with a couple being stand outs. My main problem with these characters was that the movie tries way too hard for them too all be quirky. One doesn't speak but instead always sends text messages, another has a huge brace on her torso, another talks and acts like a man, another is pregnant, and so on. Just a bit too much. The other problem is that none of them are really that funny, although Emma Stone has a few moments as the leader of the sorority.

I would definitely put this movie above the Legally Blondes, although they are pretty similar in terms of tone. A lot of the jokes will make you roll your eyes, but there are some decent laughs to be had here. You just have to be willing to shut your brain off and accept this movie for it is, cheap as hell entertainment.

** 1/2 / 5