House Bunny, The

Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy

Written by: Karen McCullah Lutz
Kirsten Smith

Directed by: Fred Wolf

Release Date:
Theatrical: August 22, 2008
DVD: December 16, 2008

Running Time: minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for sex-related humor, partial nudity and brief strong language

Starring Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Dana Goodman, Katharine McPhee, Rumer Willis, Christopher McDonald, and Beverly D'Angelo

Shelley 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. In order to accomplish their goal, they need Shelley to teach them the ways of makeup and men; at the same time, Shelley needs some of what the Zetas have – a sense of individuality. The combination leads all the girls to learn how to stop pretending and start being themselves. (Sony Pictures)

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What The Critics Said

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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 29 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Michael N. gave it a9:
This movie was absolutely hysterical. Anna's character was very funny, and it was consistent throughout the entire movie. It is by far the funniest movie of 2008, in my opinion. I would've prefered tohave the character Carrie May shown a little bit more than she was, as she was insanely funny during the parts she was in. Katharine McPhee probably gets the prize for best performance in the movie. She played her part perfectly, and she definitely has a future in acting. I like how most of the cast was semi- famous actors and actresses, because they are notable, and good, but at the same time, therewasn't really too high of an expectation for the movie. However, I think it was one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time.

CS W. gave it a2:
Terrible disappointment. Could have been very cute, but mishandled and badly written so it ended up a mess. Don't waste your money.

James C. gave it a6:
Well, me and 4 friends wanted to see a movie. 2 of us wanted to see The House Bunny, and the other two (one being me) wanted to see something else... But, since The House Bunny was immediately playing, we all bought tickets and went in. I saw the commercials, and in all honesty, it didn't appeal to me, so as the previews went by, I thought to myself "oh joy, here comes a below mediocre ride". However, I will admit, that at the end, yes, I liked it. I actually liked it. It was funny in some parts, and dry in some, but it was alright, and yes, I liked it. My major criticism though is that a most of the film takes place in a college dorm; in this dorm lives, of course, college students. So why don't any of these students do to class, have homework, projects, assignments, or even so much as TALK about classes? This film has practically NOTHING to do with college. My other criticism is that about 1/4 through the movie, the 7 (I believe) 'nerdy' and socially-unacceptable girls change in appearance and personality; after they changed, I could not recognize them at all (well, I suppose after awhile I could pick out 3 of them). Also, I think their dramatic shift from uncool to 'fabulous' was way too early in the film, and basically consisted of a 1-minute montage consisting of lots and lots of make-up being applied. So yes, The House Bunny has it's laughs, but it's not without it's theme issues. Also, prepare to be confused as to which character is which, if you decide to watch.

Jessi B. gave it an8:
I am in a sorority with the same short name of “Zeta” so when I first saw the trailer to this movie I was curious and angry. I could not believe that they could use this name and I was praying that this would not place yet another bad rep on Greek life. Fortunately I felt like the only people getting mocked were the “house bunnies” and I was glad to see them put a positive spin on sorority life. When the movie started out I was skeptical but I feel that Anna Ferris did an amazing job and that this movie would not have survived without her. This movie had hilarious one-liners and subtle jokes that kept the whole theater laughing. This movie also showed a strong sense of sisterhood and showed that good people really do overcome bad ones. This movie also showed that anyone has potential and that looks aren’t the best quality in a human being. It singled out the “pretty” girls to be rude and obnoxious while the “ugly” girls had amazing and quirky personalities. I feel that this movie puts out a positive role model for younger girls and it doesn’t follow the typical stereotype for sororities. I can truly say that I enjoyed this movie and was not upset leaving the theater.

Chad S. gave it a5:
Twenty was antediluvian in Menudo years. In the house of "wome-nudo", it's twenty-seven. Beauty and brains, that's the happy medium all women should hanker for, because that's "what boys like". A sensitive "boy" like Oliver(Colin Hanks), who looks after oldsters in a retirement home, prizes scintillating dinner conversation above a gravity-defying rack, right? In "The House Bunny", a homeless bunny imparts her Playboy ideology to some ostracized sorority girls, who in return, help Shelley(Anna Faris) feel better about herself when they point the "dumb blonde" in the direction of the nearest library. Since "The House Bunny" never shows these nerdy girls excelling in the classroom, or anything to compensate for their lack of success with the opposite sex, looking f***able is the only currency that matters. To suggest that Shelly needs a cerebral cortex makeover is disingenuous, at best, in a film that received Hugh Hefner's endorsement. While Natalie(Emma Stone) gets her man by being the best version of herself, Shelly wins Oliver over without ever having to read another book. The fact that Shelley turns down a chance to be a Playboy centerfold is beside the point. She's still hopelessly vapid. No man ever dates a woman for her brains.

Daniel C. gave it a5:
Wait for this one to come out on DVD. There are funny parts, but nothing to rush to the theater for.

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