The House Bunny | Teen Ink

The House Bunny MAG

January 2, 2009
By Anonymous

My limited experience with Happy Madison, Adam Sandler’s production company, has not been pleasant. For ­example, “Click,” with its ­juvenile humor and manipulative plot, tops my list of worst films of all time. So when my friends dragged me to Happy Madison’s latest feature, “The House Bunny,” my instincts told me to bail.

I should have listened to my instincts.

“The House Bunny” follows Shelley (Anna Faris), a Playboy Bunny who has just been kicked out of the mansion. In search of a new home, she finds a pair of college sororities: ­Zeta, a small group of unattractive misfits looking for enough pledges to keep their house; and Phi Iota Mu, a large, pop­ular sorority whose house mother and leader seek to destroy Zeta because its members are … unattractive misfits.

After she is rejected by Phi Iota Mu, Shelley agrees to help the Zeta girls become more ­attractive and popular so they can gain pledges. By the end of the movie, Shelley and the girls learn that appearances aren’t everything and you should be who you are.

Where do I begin?

First, let’s examine the main problem with the plot: the antagonists. In order for a story to be plausible or intriguing, both the protagonist and antagonist must have a reasonable motivation. Here the protagonists’ ­motivation makes sense, but it’s not clear why the members of Phi Iota Mu want to demolish Zeta. Sure, they might not look like … well, like Playboy Bunnies, but that makes them less threatening. Phi Iota Mu has nothing to gain from Zeta’s downfall and nothing to lose from its uprising, so how are we supposed to believe these characters?

The most insulting aspect of the film is its message. Besides being cliched, it’s hypocritical; the film exploits the heck out of the same chauvinist views it condemns. By the time Shelley proclaims that appearances don’t matter, dozens of impossibly “attractive” characters and walk-ons have already pranced around in skimpy outfits onscreen for 90 minutes. In addition, the only characters who don’t look like Playboy Bunnies are automatically typecast as hideous wildebeest until Shelley makes them over to look like every other plastic runway model in the movie.

I kept asking myself, “Is there anyone in this movie who looks normal?” The attempt at a message almost seemed more like an excuse for the filmmakers to say, “We didn’t just make a piece of superficial garbage filled with unrealistic swimsuit models! We think brains and personality are important too!” Don’t believe it for a second.

Now, you may be thinking, This is a comedy. It’s just supposed to be funny! And you’re right – but this movie isn’t funny. All the jokes were written only to confirm either that Shelley is as vain and stupid as Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson combined (imagine an entire movie of “I don’t eat buffalo” jokes), or that the girls of Zeta are hideous and unpopular. Believe me when I say that these jokes are not funny. Clichéd? Sure. Superficial? Definitely. Stereotypical? You bet. But not funny.

Happy Madison pictures just keep getting worse and worse. You definitely won’t see me at the next one.


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This article has 29 comments.


Pasha BRONZE said...
on May. 23 2009 at 12:36 am
Pasha BRONZE, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
4 articles 2 photos 1 comment
I agree completely! That's what I thought of the movie. First of all, the "unattractive Zeta sorority sisters" are, what do you know, attractive actresses given the ugly title. But of course, after making themselves over and buying new clothes, they've ultimately become the best people they can be.

on May. 22 2009 at 5:44 pm
LAKEISHA LEWIS, LOUISVILLE, Kentucky
0 articles 0 photos 5 comments
I think your being to serious about this movie.They just might not be your kind of movies.I thought it was really funny.But i agree with you dont go see anymore Happy Madison pictures,because you dont seem to grasp their kind of sense of humor.No Big everyone likes diffrent kind of movies.But my suggestion for you is not to take movies so seriously,i mean they are afterall just movies!

Jamie! GOLD said...
on May. 22 2009 at 3:09 pm
Jamie! GOLD, Hartland, Wisconsin
18 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Tough times don't last... Tough people do.

I completely agree with you and I'm glad you were published. I'm so tired of these movies that keep making some "new" spin on the concept of taking off your glasses and putting on make up makes you pretty. The idea's gotten old. These writers need to think of something truly new to put on for us.

victory said...
on May. 22 2009 at 9:48 am
oh no

Katie[: GOLD said...
on May. 15 2009 at 6:02 pm
Katie[: GOLD, Columbus, Indiana
15 articles 0 photos 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Live life to the fullest, and like there won't be a tomorrow."

yeah Taylor is right, that is mean. I ♥ that movie x 10..

on May. 4 2009 at 2:17 am
I think you have the movie way wrong and it's being a little too critical. I loved that movie!

on Apr. 30 2009 at 5:45 pm
Xavier Stampley, Fisherville, Kentucky
0 articles 0 photos 9 comments
i think youre totally getting this the wrong way i think u just dont like his productions

on Apr. 8 2009 at 4:59 pm
E.L.W. PLATINUM, Glen Allen, Virginia
31 articles 0 photos 59 comments

Favorite Quote:
Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels.
The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes -
the ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo.
They push the human race forward.

Well written! I like how critical and thorough you were. "House Bunny" sounds stereotypical and superficial and your review examined that aspect well.

Madison0124 said...
on Apr. 2 2009 at 12:30 am
I think your being to serious about this movie.They just might not be your kind of movies.I thought it was really funny.But i agree with you dont go see anymore Happy Madison pictures,because you dont seem to grasp their kind of sense of humor.No Big everyone likes diffrent kind of movies.But my suggestion for you is not to take movies so seriously,i mean they are afterall just movies!