the house bunny

In The House Bunny, Shelley (Anna Faris), a Playboy Bunny-turned-sorority house mother, is constantly labeled vapid. Her character is no match, however, for the vapidity of the film.

The House Bunny is effectively Revenge of the Nerds and Legally Blonde rolled up into one movie far worse than its college-themed comedy kin. Shelley, the titular house bunny, wakes up after her 27th birthday to find out she has been booted from the Playboy mansion because she is too old-"59 in Bunny years." But luck would have it that she stumbles upon a college campus and finds the perfect pathetic sorority in need of a house mother. These seven Zeta Alpha Zeta girls are four-eyed nerds but once they let their hair down and take their glasses off--cue makeover montage-they become busty, callow bombshells.

Though the film follows a formulaic plot line, it is not the great pitfall of the movie. Writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith crafted a script that boils down to one weak one-liner after the next. For what should have been an easy comedy, The House Bunny is incredibly not funny. Painful even.

The film's only strength comes from its lead. Faris pours herself into every bad joke and makes the most of an abysmal script. Her physical commitment will especially win over the audience's sympathy. But not even her endless and effortless charm and comedic skills can save the movie.

The House Bunny should have been Faris' breakout role-her very own Legally Blonde. And it may prove to be. But you cannot leave the multiplex without thinking Faris deserves better than a late-summer popcorn flick.