The House BunnyMovie Reviews

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So-so

Avg. Critic Score: 55 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 14+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

80

Los Angeles Times |
Among the sunnier, funnier films of the year, thanks largely to the zest with which Faris embodies a mental vacuum. Read full review
70

The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen
Manages to stand on its own two skyscraper heels thanks to the comic force of nature that is Anna Faris. Read full review
70

The New York Times | Nathan Lee
This particular wheel hasn't been reinvented, but at least it gets a nice fresh coat of bubblegum-pink paint and a star to pilot it with aplomb. Read full review
70

Variety |
A blissfully broad comedy that should catapult Anna Faris into a singular kind of stardom. Read full review
67

Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum
The movie flaunts its comedy roots like a messy bleach job. Read full review
63

Boston Globe | Wesley Morris
The movie is a commercial for Hugh Hefner that makes his magazine seem like "Seventeen." Read full review
63

USA Today | Claudia Puig
Bunny is fashioned as a bawdy comedy with heart, but its reliance on formula undercuts the amusing moments. Read full review
50

San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub
Screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith may not have any original ideas, but they write some good lines and have a great actress to deliver them. Read full review
50

Philadelphia Inquirer | Carrie Rickey
Despite a winning performance by Anna Faris, the cutest thing in platform shoes since Goldie Hawn, the film falls on its keister so many times that before long the perky pinkness turns bruising black-and-blue. Read full review
30

Wall Street Journal |
Unfortunately, Ms. Faris has neither an adroit script -- House Bunny is a stale collection of dumb bunny jokes -- nor Ms. Witherspoon's wily charm. And the filmmakers do Ms. Faris no favors by inviting comparisons to Marilyn Monroe. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for The House Bunny on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Some laughs, but an iffy message for girls.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that although this fluffy college-set comedy is supposedly about why it's important to be yourself, it has some iffy messages for the tween and young teen girls who are most likely to want to see it -- chiefly, that women need to doll themselves up to attract the opposite sex. Since main character Shelley is a Playboy bunny, sex in general is a main theme of the movie, even though the only "action" is a couple of kisses. There are constant references to Playboy: The mansion, the magazine, and Hugh Hefner himself all play central roles in the plot. Scenes set in the mansion include scads of barely dressed bunnies wearing revealing lingerie or tiny bikinis, and Shelley does the same even after she leaves (in one scene, the entire length of her nude body is visible from the back). Characters also discuss sex and virginity. One sorority sister is pregnant, but her pregnancy is used like a prop instead of taken seriously. Language includes one "f--k" and many uses of "bitch," and characters drink frequently (though generally not to excess) at both the mansion and college parties.

Families can talk about whether Shelley is a good role model. Is her dream of becoming a Playboy centerfold an admirable one? What do the Zeta sisters learn from her? What does she learn from them? What is the movie's message about young women? What does "sisterhood" mean, according to the Zetas? Ultimately, does the movie reinforce stereotypes or undermine them?

The good stuff

Positive messages: Although the movie's ostensible message is that everyone should just be who they are, young female viewers are much more likely to get the idea that they need to be thin, tan, and dolled up to be sexy and attractive to the opposite sex. While there's nothing wrong with wanting to look nice, the Zeta girls go from not caring a fig for how they look to (temporarily) becoming just as judgmental and looks-obsessed as the sorority girls they disliked. Shelley's dream is to be a Playboy centerfold. On the other hand, at least Shelley makes philanthropy cool (even if she can't say the word properly). The Iota Mu sisters are typical movie "mean girls," doing their best to humiliate the Zetas and stand in the way of their success. A girl in a back brace is mocked.

What to watch for

Violence: A woman violently twists the nipples of a man she's angry with (but he actually enjoys it); Shelley gets hurt standing over a steaming manhole cover. Several pratfalls.
Sex: All of the scenes featuring Playboy bunnies show women nearly undressed. Shelley walks around in lingerie, bikinis, or other cleavage-bearing outfits all the time. She disrobes in front of the sorority, and her nude body is visible from the back for a few seconds. As for actual sex, there isn't any, but there are a couple of quick kisses and lots of flirting and conversations about virginity/hooking up (including a symbolic "sacrifice" of one of the virginal sorority sisters). One male character is in thrall of a woman who turns him on by twisting his nipples painfully. Star Anna Faris appeared in Playboy (though not fully naked) at the time of the film's premiere.
Language: Mostly the word "bitch" and its variations, plus one "f--kin'" and body parts like "nipples," "boobies," "penis," etc.
Consumerism: The Playboy brand, the Playboy mansion, and Hugh Hefner are featured throughout the film. Also shown are Haagen-Dazs ice cream and the make-up store Sephora. Shelley mentions a Prius.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Lots of drinking at the Playboy mansion and the college campus' Greek parties, where presumably some students are under 21.

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.