The House Bunny

  • Review Date: August 21, 2008
  • PG-13
  • Genre: Comedy
  • 2008
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Some laughs, but an iffy message for girls.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

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.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Mostly the word "bitch" and its variations, plus one "f--kin'" and body parts like "nipples," "boobies," "penis," etc.
  • 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.
  • Lots of drinking at the Playboy mansion and the college campus' Greek parties, where presumably some students are under 21.

What's the story?

Shelley (Anna Faris) is an enthusiastic Playboy bunny whose life goal is to become a centerfold. She lives happily in Hugh Hefner's mansion until the day she's kicked out, supposedly for turning 27. Dazed, she ends up wandering the streets of Los Angeles until she stumbles upon Greek row at a local college. The sorority houses look like "miniature Playboy mansions" to her, so she walks into the Zeta house, which is about to lose its charter, and asks to be their house mother. Zeta's "misfit" sisters -- including timid, back-braced Joanne (Rumer Willis); heavily pierced brainiac Mona (Kat Dennings); heavily pregnant Harmony (Katharine McPhee); and dorky-but-beautiful-behind-her-glasses Natalie (Emma Stone) -- can't get anyone to pledge, but the scantily clad Shelley promises to save them by transforming the shy, cerebral clan into sexy, dolled-up hotties.


Is it any good?

 

Faris is a gifted comedic actress who frequently manages to elicit laughs out of lowbrow material. She's a master at playing sweet-but-stupid sexbots. But in THE HOUSE BUNNY, her innate charm just underscores the movie's disturbing theme -- that young women have to transform themselves into vapid, cleavage-bearing party girls to be happy or fall in love, which is a dangerous message to send young girls. (Everything ends on a "just be yourself" note, but that pales in comparison to 90 minutes of lingerie and bedroom hair.)

One of the reasons that Revenge of the Nerds is such a classic college comedy is that the guys don't change. They prove themselves worthy of popularity (and love) despite being nerds. In this case, the nerdy girls have to dramatically alter their appearance -- courtesy of ridiculously short skirts, three layers of makeup, and water-filled push-up bras -- to catch a guy's attention or appeal to potential pledges. It's sad that two decades after Gilbert, Lewis, and Booger proved that nerds are cool, these girls have to resort to objectifying stereotypes to save their sorority.


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What families can talk about

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?


This review was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
Adult
March 12, 2011
 
PERFECT for anyone over the age of 12
This movie is rated very harshly. It is about playboy bunnies, but there's nothing about it that a teenager cannot see. This is definitely ok for 13 and up.

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Kid, 13 years old
July 24, 2010
 
I am 11 and ive got it because i thought that it was really funny. but it is quite rude and it does say b*** alot but other than that the actors are good at wat they do like anna faris(scary movies 1,2,3&4) and emma stone (zombieland) but anna faris knows how to make it rude in an innocent way.

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Kid, 13 years old
August 25, 2011
 
11 +
this is a great movie but if your upset this movie will put you down

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Teen, 14 years old
May 26, 2011
 
<3.
i love this film. bunny times:)

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Teen, 15 years old
September 8, 2011
 
good, but the message is off
its ok for mature tweens. if you have a daughter, make sure she understands that looks aren't everything and they do this for entertainment. if you have a son old enough to understand all of the sexual stuff, make sure he understands it too. emma stone is great in this.

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Adult
November 12, 2009
 
Forgettable but amusing
It took me until about half-way through the movie to actually get into it; most of the humor is typical dorky teen-movie stuff. Mid-PG-13 rating - language, little bit of goofy violence, usual count of sexual *references* for something dealing with the playboy mansion. The initial sterotyping was obnoxious, but I like the fact that later in the movie the main character does try to "smarten-up". Overall it's not a great movie, but it's okay enough for it's genre; I'd recommend Sydnie White and She's The Man long before it, though.

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Teen, 16 years old
September 5, 2011
 
Pretty good.
I like the movie personally but a younger teen wouldn't. It's not appropriate. It does use language like the 'f' word, b--ch, and things like that. Some parts are funny though. Pretty good overall.

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Parent of 14 year old
August 8, 2010
 
I think anyone could watch this
I really like this movie it is pretty funny!

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Kid, 12 years old
March 11, 2010
 
i think it's appropriate to me NOW!!!!!
i didn't seen it on the movies but mymom and dad seen it and i seen it without movie theaters, but it contains bad language, too much dollars, violence and stuff like that or okay and i don't think The House Bunny is Appropriate for children below 5 and you think 5-12 it's fun 2 watch when it's ok and unok it's ok but...butbut 13+ fine

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
March 11, 2010
 
i think it's appropriate to me NOW!!!!!
i didn't seen it on the movies but mymom and dad seen it and i seen it without movie theaters, but it contains bad language, too much dollars, violence and stuff like that or okay and i don't think The House Bunny is Appropriate for children below 5 and you think 5-12 it's fun 2 watch when it's ok and unok it's ok but...butbut 13+ fine

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
Studio:Columbia Tristar
Director:Fred Wolf
Cast:Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone
Genre:Comedy
Run time:100 minutes
Theatrical release date:August 22, 2008
DVD release date:December 19, 2008
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:sex-related humor, partial nudity and brief strong language.

This review was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

 

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