Movie review – “House Bunny” (2008) **

Terrific idea undone by inept execution. Ana Faris is perfect in a Marilyn Monroe type role as the playboy bunny who heads to a sorority and there are some terrific moments and bits. But even these are either not developed enough (eg the feminist who agrees to become a ditz for research – a great idea thrown away, the sexual politics), or repeated too often (eg Faris speaking in a deep voice to help her memorise). The romantic sub plot with Colin Hanks starts promisingly but then goes off the rails when you realise it’s not believable he would be attracted to her apart from shallow physical reasons, and Hanks seems to be channelling his dad’s everyman persona without his dad’s skill. The male characters are weak and poorly developed, the climax is contrived and it is very bad directed (pacing, blocking, etc). Also the filmmakers often go for unrealistic gags, eg the tall geek character who tells guys that she wants to take a dump. It feels like a hastily written first draft of a quite detailed scene breakdown. On the sunny side, the set design is gorgeous – love that Aztec Party - and the scenes in the Playboy Mansion are fun.