Review of The House Bunny (2008) by Cinema With C — 01 Dec 2018

The House Bunny as you can probably tell is not a flick that is sought after to view, but as it's one of those films you can just throw on while streaming, it can still get the review treatment.

A product of Happy Madison (which already raises an eyebrow of concern), The House Bunny is Anna Farris once again being slightly left of brilliant comedienne in most of the things she makes in a Playboy Playmate meets a sorority narrative. The concept sorta makes sense. From one dysfunctional community to another, on paper The House Bunny could potentially work. In reality it does, but only in the way those early 2000s college comedies worked, just not as well.

The House Bunny is not consistently funny. Hell, it takes a while to get going with its characters and the silly stupidity behind the humour. After a while, you sorta give into the comedy. You won't laugh out loud and you won't laugh much, but when you do it's something silly that might have caught you off guard.

It might have done better if it were allowed to go cruder. With the choice of including the world of Playboy into the concept, maybe in other hands and more (im)mature writing, The House Bunny would really be let free.

Instead, you get a safe film and story where you know where it's going, but wish it went a bit more flashy and entertaining. It's definitely saved by its stars, Anna Farris and Emma Stone are both highlights playing stupidly dumb and awkwardly smart respectively. And that soundtrack is so pitch perfect for 2008.

Overall, not the best. If you want some white noise on Amazon Prime at the moment, however, it's a solid option.