Maybe it's because The House Bunny is the last movie I have to see before taking an overdue vacation. But I enjoyed it as much as any comedy I've seen lately, and wouldn't mind seeing it again on home video.
That proves it. I've gotta take some time off.
Actually, I'm mildly recommending The House Bunny to anyone searching for laughs and not picky where they're found. It's essentially a gender switch on Revenge of the Nerds, poking fun at people who aren't traditionally beautiful before realizing that self-esteem doesn't come in a shoe box or mascara tube. Don't sell it short as a misguided message that the only way to succeed is without really trying except in front of the makeup mirror.
What I love about the movie -- and lust for afterward -- is Anna Faris, a lethally blonde knockout who plays dumb so well that she must be a smart actor. After being mired in Scary Movie debacles and minor parts in great movies (Brokeback Mountain, Lost in Translation), Faris now gets her Judy Holliday moment, mixing metaphors like a Cuisinart and making up words like "skimplify" for fashion tips, as a former Playboy model counseling dowdy sorority sisters.
The script is smarter than usual for a campus comedy, written by the team of Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith that made Legally Blonde a similar type of table-turning comedy. Here's a sampling of their work, before I wrap up my final pre-vacation duties:
"Kindness is just love with its work boots on."
"You're a butterfly now, not an earthworm."
"Instead of the mahi-mahi, can I just have one mahi? I'm not that hungry."
And finally a makeup tip anyone can appreciate:
"The eyes are the nipples of the face."
Steve Persall is the movie critic for the St. Petersburg Times. He was conceived behind a drive-in movie theater his father operated and raised in projection booths and concession stands. He doesn't care how you did it up north.
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