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The House Bunny is a 2008 American romantic comedy film, directed by Fred Wolf. The film was written by Legally Blonde screenwriters Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz. The film had its US theatrical release on August 22, 2008 and stars Anna Faris, Katharine McPhee, Colin Hanks, Kat Dennings, and Emma Stone. It is the second film directed by Wolf[1]. The DVD and Blu-ray Disc was released on December 16, 2008.[2] Faris stars as Shelley Darlington, a former Playboy bunny who signs up to be the new house mother at a university sorority after becoming too old for Playboy standards.
[edit] PlotShelley Darlington (Anna Faris) is an aspiring Playboy Playmate living the life of luxury in the Playboy Mansion. The day after her twenty-seventh birthday, she awakes to find a note, seemingly from Hugh Hefner, asking her to pack up and leave because she is too old to be a Bunny now. Depressed, Shelley sets out on the road looking for a new life. She happens upon girls who remind her of herself: beautiful and fun. She follows them and sees that they live in luxury too. She tells them of her situation and asks to join them, not knowing that they are members of the Phi Iota Mu sorority; she is rejected by the snobbish Phis because she is not a student. She then sees there are older ladies called "house mothers" who live with the sorority sisters and watch over them, but after asking them to join, she is rejected again and told to inquire with the Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority. The members of the Zeta house are dowdy, socially awkward, and caught off guard by Shelley's bubbly nature, prompting them to initially reject her. Once they see that Shelley is able to attract boys and friends, however, the Zetas change their mind and take in Shelley as their new "house mother." Drawing on her years of experience as a Bunny, Shelley makes-over the Zetas and their house, turning them around and teaching them everything they need to know to surpass the other sororities on campus, most notably the rival Phis. In particular, Shelley becomes close with Natalie (Emma Stone), a bespectacled virgin who acts as leader of the Zetas. Natalie, who is secretly in love with a boy named Colby (Tyson Ritter), doesn't catch his attention until Shelley transforms the Zetas. During her time spent with "The Zetas", Shelley meets an intellectual, altruistic guy named Oliver (Colin Hanks); although she can teach everyone else how to flirt, her attempts at doing so with Oliver blow up in her face. Shelley enlists the help of the Zeta sisters on what to do in order to socialize with Oliver, but her attempt at making herself over as a fellow intellectual prove similarly ineffective at winning him over. Embarrassed and hopeless, Shelley writes Oliver a fake goodbye letter and stops speaking to him. Meanwhile, the Zeta girls become more popular on campus, until finally realizing that they completely changed themselves just to please other people. They blame it on Shelley, who leaves the house in tears. At the same time, Shelley gets a call from Hugh Hefner, informing her that his "letter" asking her to leave was falsified by a rival jealous Bunny who was a few months new; Hugh wants Shelley to return to the Mansion. It would seem perfect for her to go back to her old life, but when she tries, Shelley finds that she cares far too much for her Zeta girls, who apologize for their words and reciprocate the sentiment. The Zetas, as it turns out, are in danger of losing their status as a sorority due to the Phis sabotaging their recruitment list; they need 30 pledges before the adjournment of the pan-hellenic council meeting on campus. Shelley returns to the Zetas and, together, they crash the meeting. Shelley gives a heartfelt speech about what her experience with the Zetas has taught her about love and acceptance, and a gradual total of 30 students in the audience agree to pledge the Zeta House, the 30th being a Phi girl wanting to join the Zetas. With the future of the Zetas secured, Natalie reveals that she contacted Oliver on Shelley's behalf; Oliver agrees to go out with Shelley again and try to get to know the "real" her. The film ends with Zetas and their new pledges celebrating and having fun together. [edit] Cast
[edit] SoundtrackThere are no plans for a soundtrack to be released, a single from the film was released to iTunes on July 16, 2008.[citation needed] The single was a cover of The Waitresses song, "I Know What Boys Like", by Katharine McPhee (Featuring Kat Dennings, Emma Stone & Rumer Willis). The movie also featured songs by artists including:
[edit] ProductionFaris had pitched the film's concept to a few companies and Happy Madison picked it up. The working title of the film was I Know What Boys Like. The film was made during Summer 2007. [edit] Reception[edit] Critical receptionFaris' performance was praised by most critics; however, the film itself received mixed reviews. It currently has 39% Rotten rating at Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus stating "Anna Faris is game, but she can't salvage this middling, formulaic comedy.[5] (Cult)ure film critic, Kevin Johns, suggested, "The House Bunny would have, perhaps, garnered more laughs if it had actually addressed just how difficult it is for young women to transform their identity, or if it dared to explore the challenge of finding that elusive balance between outer appearance and inner beauty... Instead, the film... tells a fairytale narrative in which any difficulties amalgamating looks with intellect can be overcome by a quick montage or, even worse, a 'Where My Zetas At?' hip-hop dance number."[6] Variety's John Anderson stated that this movie was a "Blissfully broad comedy that should catapult Anna Faris into a singular kind of stardom."[7] Another critic on Cinematical said, "Watching Faris prance about playing Playboy's dumbest blonde is worth the price of admission in itself, so go in with your brain on neutral and the movie for all it is: A simple, seductive, slice of late-summer sunshine."[8] [edit] Box officeThe House Bunny was released in the US on August 22, 2008. It debuted at #1 on its first day of release making $5.91 million, but ultimately landed in second place for its opening weekend, making $14.53 million [9], behind Ben Stiller's action-comedy picture Tropic Thunder, which made $16.27 million. As of March 22, 2009, the film had grossed $70 million worldwide ($48 million domestic and $22 million overseas).[10] The film debuted in the UK chart at #1 grossing almost $1 million in its first weekend. [edit] Home mediaThe DVD and Blu-ray were released December 16, 2008. Both releases included deleted scenes, the music video for "I Know What Boys Like" with introduction, and seven featurettes. [edit] References
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