Omigawd, The House Bunny

I have some things to say.

Anna Faris is a comedic GOD, if you ask me. Not since Judy Holliday has one been able to turn the "dumb blonde" stereotype on its head like she can. The Scary Movies, Lost in Translation, and especially Smiley Face are endlessly hilarious whenever she's on screen (which, for the latter, is ALL her). So, of course, this movie excited me. She's headlining! Plus, "from the screenwriters of Legally Blonde" didn't hurt, considering I would sometimes give them Adapted Screenplay for 2001. I know.

But... there's a major problem. Shelley is essentially not much more than a watered-down version of what she can do so reliably (and brilliantly). It made my brain sad. Of course, she has her moments, but it's rarely as memorable as Cindy or Jane. This is the problem: What if it doesn't get better from here? What if her career continues down this kind of path, and perhaps it escalates downward, until she turns into a Meg Ryan wannabe? These are the things that haunt me. I could barely sleep last night! I don't know if that was her fault, but I couldn't! :-\

Another problem I had (with the film, not her) was the soundtrack. They're all very, very new songs - some of them probably weren't even made yet when they finished shooting! - and they don't work. They're all so nonsensically placed. Each time a new one came up, even if it's a song I LOVE, I audibly groaned. It was oddly disillusioning.

Now, good things. I actually really liked it! Didn't see that coming, did ya? It's wonderfully enjoyable, and if I weren't so attached to Anna, I'm sure I would've enjoyed it more. It's very funny, and the cast is uniformly good. I especially loved Emma Stone, because I always feel for the clueless nerds. Plus, she had a crush on TYSON RITTER! What's a boy to do, huh? Kat Dennings, too. And I couldn't believe that Beverly D'Angelo was in this, and as the head bitch, no less. Katherine McPhee was actually fairly good! Seriously, some of her best moments are better than Faris' worst(!!!). I also wanna mention Owen Benjamin, who played Marvin, but it's mainly because he's insanely cute (the nipple thing? *drool*).

The film's shallowness is also a problem, but a rather minor one. It's way too frequent and over-bearing for the ultimate "message" scenes to sink in entirely, which is unfortunate, because they involve butt cheeks.

So, for Anna's sake, it's definitely disappointing. But as a stand-alone film, it's somewhat perfect for those lazy, popcorn-abundant days.

VD Grade: ★★★ (out of five)