THE HOUSE BUNNY

US, 2008, 97 minutes, Colour.
Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Rumer Willis, Beverly D' Angelo, Christopher Mc Donald, Hugh Hefner.
Directed by Fred Wolf.

Who would have thought? In 2008 a PG rated story about Bunnies and the Playboy mansion, with an appearance by Hugh Hefner himself (looking old and only semi-lecherous)? But, this is partly what this light, breezy and cheerful comedy is about.

Anna Faris showed that she has a talent for cleverly portraying dumb blonde types on screen in such films as the Scary Movie series. This time she is a neglected orphan, Shelley, who is mysteriously transformed (something like the conglomerated mix-up of familiar fairy tales that Shelley recounts) into a Bunny living at Hefner’s mansion. The mansion and behaviour portrayed here seems audience-friendly-sanitised. When ousted from the mansion, and with no credentials or work talents, and no education (her vocabulary is seriously limited), she arrives like an innocent Crocodile Dundee, or any of those naive heroes and heroines of city comedies, in Los Angeles, trying to find somewhere to stay.

She ingenuously turns up at a college, spurned by the rich and intelligent, depended on by the sorority outcasts, wanting to be the house mother – and, of course, she transforms them into glamorous starlets, finds a decent man to fall in love with, defeats the mean girls and their cohorts, blends her extravert talents and charms with some study and innate shrewdness and shows that it is best to be one’s true self with inner beauty and that being the November centrefold is not a be-all and end-all of life. And who could quibble with that?

1.A good-natured film? The history of Playboy, Hugh Hefner, the Playboy Mansion, the bunnies, the centrefolds? Into the 21st century?

2.The mansion itself, lavish? The university, the sororities, the campus?

3.The range of songs and the musical score?

4.The film’s attitude towards the bunnies, initially, Shelley, the parties, the mansion, Shelley and the makeover of the university students? Change and success? Shelley and her relationship with Oliver, the blunt talk, the failure? Going back to being natural and normal and doing good? The critique of the bunny philosophy?

5.Shelley and the orphanage, her history, everyone else adopted, the medication and her change, glamour, the glow, the photos, going to the mansion, living there? Marvin and his friendship, the other girls? The parties? Her birthday party and the dancing? Her ambition to be the November centrefold? The letter, her being ousted, Marvin and the cat? Her disappointment?

6.Shelley as good-natured, thinking well of the other bunnies, the dumb blonde, her lack of education, her poor vocabulary, her feminine wiles, but nice, her voice memory and the deep voice, wanting to do good, liking everybody?

7.Shelley as homeless, in the car, cleaning her teeth? The reaction of the police? In prison, her talking with the prostitutes? The campus, the sorority, the elegant ladies and Mrs Hagstrom? Their nastiness but using the word ‘nice’? Her going to the Zeta House, by accident? Her talking with Natalie and the girls? Her wanting to be house mother? Their accepting her after suspicions? Her activities? Helping Natalie? The car wash and the boys coming to look? The makeover and her enjoying changing the girls? The attitude of the girls? Setting up the booth, the posing for the calendars? The Aztec party and the sacrifice of the virgin? The popularity? Meeting Oliver, his notice about the elderly? Her going to the home, teaching everyone to dance? Her going out with Oliver, the sexy talk, his reaction? Her going to studies, classes, learning, her file cards and his being put off? The girls’ rebelling against her? The phone call from Hugh Hefner, fulfilment of ambitions, her return? The photo shoot? Her leaving, Natalie finding her, going back to the meeting, her speech, the pledges? The reconciliation with Oliver? Her being natural and not being a bunny?

8.The girls at Zeta? Natalie, intelligent, her hopes, gawky, wanting to meet Colby? Eating with her mouth full? Changing? The meeting with Colby, his wanting her to be normal? Joanne and the brace, attracted to the jogging man, her running, the brace coming off? Mona and her piercings, her anti-objectification of women? The change, her doing research? The girl with the deep voice, so many years at college, her blunt flirtation? The pregnant girl and her singing? The short girl? Lily and her being afraid, hiding, mobile phones? English?

9.Mrs Hagstrom and her taunts? The rival collage, the head girl and her snobbery, her assistant? Playing tricks, sending out rejects to the girls? Behaviour like Mean Girls?

10.The dean, the situation of the house, getting the pledges, his sympathy, running the meeting?

11.Shelley and her decision, her speech, getting the thirty pledges, the Mean Girls’ assistant coming over?

12.Popular comedy, simple, silly, sexy – and the message of being oneself?