The House Bunny (2008)

When Shelly, a Playboy bunny, is tossed out of the mansion, she has nowhere to go until she falls in with the sorority girls from Zeta Alpha Zeta. The members of the sorority - who also have got to be the seven most socially clueless women on the planet - are about to lose their house. They need a dose of what only the eternally bubbly Shelley can provide... but they will each learn on their own ... See full summary »

Director:

Fred Wolf

Writers:

Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith

Stars:

Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Faris	...	Shelley Darlingson
Colin Hanks	...	Oliver
Emma Stone	...	Natalie
Kat Dennings	...	Mona
Hugh M. Hefner	...	Himself (as Hugh Hefner)
Christopher McDonald	...	Dean Simmons
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Mrs. Hagstrom
Katharine McPhee	...	Harmony
Rumer Willis	...	Joanne
Kiely Williams	...	Lilly
Dana Goodman	...	Carrie Mae
Kimberly Makkouk	...	Tanya
Monet Mazur	...	Cassandra
Tyson Ritter	...	Colby
Sarah Wright	...	Ashley

Storyline

Finding family. Shelley Darlingson was raised in an orphanage, finally happy when she blossoms into a fox and moves into the Playboy Mansion. Unfortunately, she's summarily expelled on her 27th birthday(she's now too old). In desperation she takes a job as house mother for a sorority of misfits losing their house for lack of members. They have but a few months to find 30 pledges, or a sorority of mean girls will take over their place. Shelley figures that girls will pledge a house that boys find interesting, so she sets out to make the Zetas alluring, not act too smart, and host great parties. Can she succeed, and what about her own makeover? Sabotage is everywhere, plus it's hard to be one's self.

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Plot Keywords:

sorority | playboy | party | playboy mansion | makeover | 

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Taglines:

For the girls of ZETA house college life was no party, until Shelley showed up.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sex-related humor, partial nudity and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace.com Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 August 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Know What Boys Like

Filming Locations:

Playboy Mansion - 10236 Charing Cross Road, Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£894,188 (UK) (10 October 2008)

Gross:

£2,931,090 (UK) (31 October 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Happy Madison Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The actor who played "Colby" is Tyson Ritter, who is also the lead vocalist for the rock band The All-American Rejects. If you listen closely you'll hear one of his band's songs playing in the background of nearly every scene he appears in.

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Goofs

When Shelley is in jail, there is a transvestite in the holding cell. In American jails, men are never locked up with women.

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Quotes

Mrs. Hagstrom: [about the college] This is not a brothel.
Shelley: Oh, I'm not looking to make soup.

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

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Soundtracks

"Like Water"
Written by Elizaveta Khripounova and Oren Hadar
Performed by Elizaveta Khripounova (as Elizaveta)
Courtesy of Elizaveta Music

User Reviews

This Bunny is funny and will please fans of light, silly comedy and romance

Shelley (Anna Faris) was abandoned as a baby on someone's doorstep long ago. As she relates, no one was interested in getting her back although they did request that the basket be returned! Shuttled from one orphanage to another, Shelley eventually found a "family" when her womanish figure came into fruition. That's right, Shelley resided in the Playboy mansion and found happiness with Hef and the other gal pal housemates. However, one day Shelley receives word that Hef has given her two hours to move out of the mansion. A fellow worker at the residence suggests that, perhaps, she is getting too old to be a bunny. After all, didn't she just turn 27? And, isn't that like 59 in "bunny years"? So, off Shelley goes, hurt and scared. After a day on her own, she stumbles onto a nearby college campus and learns that she could possibly find a job, a home, and a salary by becoming a sorority "mother" to a group of misfit sisters. These gals, the Zetas, have seen their numbers shrink, mostly because they are all shy and a bit unconventional (among them, Katharine McPhee and Rumer Willis). The college has already told them that if they don't find new members, the Zeta house will be shut down. It is going to be Shelley's biggest challenge to turn the sorority into an attractive place for the new students. Can she do it? Perhaps, Shelly could ask for the help and advice of a nursing home director, Oliver (Colin Hanks), a nice man she met in a park? After a brief, blase beginning, this film packs a good punch of light comedy and romance. Part of the credit should go to the very nice cast. Faris is wonderful in her role as the dimwitted bunny who has more than enough smarts to learn a few new tricks and Hanks, in a smaller role, is quite nice as the love interest. The Zeta girls themselves, especially Rumer Willis and Emma Stone, are a delightful bunch of offbeat creatures that learn some lessons themselves. The rest of the cast, including Christopher McDonald and Beverly D'Angelo, is good, also. The costumes, naturally, are very fine, as this is a gal-dominated movie and clothes are especially important. But, the sunny sets, cinematography, screenplay, and direction are up to snuff as well. No, it's not Willie Shakespeare but the flick is definitely a good diversion from the everyday blues. It's a likely bet that you will find this "Bunny" to be quite funny indeed.