Faris is a perfect House Bunny

Anna Faris shines in her starring turn in THE HOUSE BUNNY, a hilarious and heartfelt tale of female empowerment. As the film opens, Shelly Darlingson (Farris) is Big Bunny on Campus at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion. With her 27th birthday approaching, Shelly eagerly anticipates fulfilling her dream: to be centerfold of the month. But when she learns that she's being booted from Bunnyland, Shelly finds herself with no family or place to call home. Desperate for both, she lucks across the socially inept sisters of the Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority. With no hope of attracting new pledges and the consequent threat of losing their sorority, the girls of Zeta take in the bubbly Shelly as their new "house mother." Shelly immediately sets to work helping the Zetas bring out their inner glamazons, luring in boys while drawing the ire of rival sorority Phi Iota Mu. Shelly also catches the eye of Oliver (Colin Hanks), who forces her to realize that it will take more her Playboy Mansion ways to win over a good man. Plus, Shelly discovers that her social insights have transformed the Zetas into the very superficial types they once railed against. And when Hugh Hefner calls to offer Shelly her dream centerfold shoot, she must choose between returning to the family that loved her best and saving the family that needs her most. Faris (who co-produced the film) is a comic delight as Shelly, with a perfect blend of sexy charm and sweet-natured cluelessness. Supported by an excellent cast of fresh faces and seasoned veterans, THE HOUSE BUNNY is an irresistible tale of inner beauty and "sisters" sticking together.

Sometimes the casting of a certain actor in a role elevates a movie from ordinary to special. Such is the case with the casting of Anna Farris as “The House Bunny.” This young woman throws herself into the part and wins over the audience with her humor and her heart. The rest of the movie is pretty routine but Farris’ performance is anything but ordinary.Farris plays Shelley Darlingson, a blonde bunny who lives at the Playboy Mansion. She appears to be one of Hugh Hefner’s favorites but on the day after her twenty-seventh birthday she gets a note from him telling her to vacate the premises. It seems twenty-seven is ancient in bunny years. Stumbling around the streets of LA she comes upon a sorority house in need of a house mother. Zeta Alpha Zeta needs to get thirty new pledges or they will lose their house. The girls, led by Natalie (Emma Stone) are won over by Shelley who knows all about making the young women more attractive and fun. The girls of the house include Harmony (“American Idol” finalist Katherine McPhee), Joanne (Rumer Willis), Carrie Mae (Dana Goodman), Mona (Kat Dennings) and Lilly (Kiely Williams). All of the girls start out plain but get total makeovers thanks to Shelley. McPhee is satisfactory in her role though it does not require her to stretch as an actress. Still it is good to see her on screen and at the end of the film she has a song over the credits. Here’s hoping this kicks off her movie career. With Farris channeling the sweetest and dumbest Marilyn Monroe image, who better to play her potential boyfriend than Tom Hanks son Colin. Whoever cast Anna Farris in this film should get a bonus based on the film’s success. She is the right actress for the right role at the right time. Her participation alone lifts this movie out of the ordinary to a level above. For a fun time at the movies watching an actress do everything just right, go see Anna Farris in “The House Bunny.” A solid 4 on my "Go See" scale.