The House Bunny (PG-13)

Flipping channels one night led me to “The House Bunny,” a paradoxically funny and dare I say uplifting movie about a struggling sorority house and a Playboy Playmate thrown out to fend for herself. Following in the vein of movies such as 1986’s “Back to School,” but tamer and told from a female point-of-view, “The House Bunny” is a refreshing comedy that manages to not only entertain audiences, but steers well clear of the land of often-offensive and puerile sorority/fraternity movies a la “Meatballs,” and “Revenge of the Nerds.”

The movie’s story is quite simple. Shelly (Anna Faris, “Brokeback Mountain”) is abandoned by her parents at an early age, and eventually winds up under Hugh Hefner’s wing at the Playboy Mansion. Sexual yet innocent, she is waiting for her big break when, the day after her 27th birthday she is delivered the devastating news that she must vacate the Mansion. Leaving with her tail between her legs, she drives from the mansion in the same beat-up station wagon she came in with. With no place to go, and no skills, she lives out of her car until she is arrested by a cop for vagrancy and another funny, yet tragic circumstance.

As this is going on, we are introduced to the Zeta Sorority House, helmed by a group of dedicated yet motley-crue college girls. The reluctant leader of the group is shy Natalie (Emma Stone, “Easy A“), who seems to be the most put together of the group. Lacking the beauty, charm, and confidence of other Sorority Houses, the Zetas have virtually no memberships and are given somber news by the Dean of the college (Christopher McDonald, “Happy Gilmore”): they have until semester’s end to find 30 pledges or they will lose their house.

It isn’t long before Shelly and Natalie meet, and, desperate to become more popular and do whatever it takes to not lose their house, the Zetas reluctantly agree to take Shelly in as their “House Mother” – a (typically older) woman whose job it is to attract pledges and run the sorority from the bottom up.

One of the charming aspects of “The House Bunny” is that it doesn’t pretend to be what it’s not. Anna Faris absolutely steals the show as Shelly, an uninhibited breath of fresh air, a woman who lacks the self awareness and vision to take insults other people throw her way personally. She is starkly at odds with the misfit Zetas, but never seems to mind. She dresses provocatively, while they wear baggy t-shirts, too many piercings, and, one tragic and sheltered girl, a medical, full-body brace for her spine. Shelley always says the wrong thing, coming off part mega-ditz, part pin-up girl. However, somehow Faris pulls off the tight balancing act between space cadet and sweetheart perfectly. With anyone else in this role, the movie had the potential to fail miserably, coming off as raunchy or pedestrian. Faris brings an irresistible charm to the role; a charm I wasn’t expecting given glossed-over performances in movies such as “Lost in Translation” and “Just Friends.”

The rest of the cast performs admirably as well, most notably Emma Stone, who tones down her cocky-yet-vulnerable character from “Easy A” into a likeable introvert needing a push in the right direction. However, even amidst a much wider cast in “The House Bunny,” Stone seems to break out of her role, showing much more diversity than in previous multi-character movies such as 2009’s “Zombieland” and 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” reboot. Along with Stone, fellow actresses, such as Kat Dennings (“Thor”) and Katherine McPhee (T.V.’s “CSI: NY”) add heart to the misfits of the Zeta House and make them ones we want to root for.

“The House Bunny” is a purposeful underdog movie, and aligns the audience right away with these almost-laughable social misfits, but does so in a way that is endearing at the same time that it is flagrant. A possible downside to the movie lies in a plethora of homages that border on bald plagiarism (one parody scene showing a Zeta breaking out of her brace is identical to the scene in “Forrest Gump”), yet avoids complete failure in the way they are presented. The girls of Zeta House, much like the sorority itself, present a challenge to Shelley, and one that builds her confidence while at the same time pulling the girls up with her.

Fans of 2002’s “Orange County” may be happy at the movie’s inclusion of Colin Hanks (son of Tom Hanks), in a minimal-yet-supporting role as ‘Oliver’ a possible love interest for Shelley who also doubles as a nursing home administrator close to the school. Further supporting characters, such as Beverly D’Angelo (“Christmas Vacation”) and Christopher McDonald add necessary balance to the plot, but in this capacity bring little else to the table. The movie’s about the sorority, not the school, not matter how hard it otherwise tries to be. And last but not least, playing himself, we even get a few scenes with Hugh Hefner as he comes to his senses and tries to win Shelley back.

“The House Bunny,” like “Back to School,” is a complete fabrication and requires a hefty suspension of disbelief to enjoy. A socially awkward Playboy bunny saving a sorority of outcasts? It’s the kind of comedy people usually skip over in the video stores. But the movie has heart and somehow manages to make a statement about change, confidence, and acceptance along the way. The movie is just fun. It features decent performances by its main cast, and a simple yet comic plot. There’s nothing grand or philosophical about the movie or its presentation. It’s no “Amistad,” but, among a sea of raunch-fests that often litter movies of its type, thankfully, it’s no “Old School” either.

– by Mark Ziobro