86 - The House Bunny

Connection To THE HELP - Emma Stone

So sue me - The House Bunny - is the sort of film I enjoy - funny, light, pretty (and likable) ladies - so easy to watch, it stars three women I particularly enjoy watching - Anna Faris, Emma Stone and Kat Dennings and is does have a good energy going for it (and no-way where's out it's welcome).

I have honestly seen The House Bunny about 4 times now - more times then I've seen Schindler's List (which I've seen 3 times), obviously List is a classic, which brings me to the reason I brought it up... it seems a lot of people can tend to ignore the virtues of a movie just existing to entertain and thus a film like The House Bunny is not meant to be brought up in the same breath as Schindler's List, it's just after a crap day and I just want to relax and there the only 2 films I could watch, The House Bunny is going to get chosen 9 out of the 10 times.

I think one of the appeals of The House Bunny (besides the three actresses I mentioned) is that it sort of takes the piss out of the whole make-over thing - I think most of the girls of this unpopular sorority more just need to get some confidence in themselves, the makeovers work from them because somebody finally believes in them, Emma Stone's character just is not comfortable in front of boys and it's never in doubt she's pretty to the audience (how many have films have pretty much told us the clearly pretty girl is meant to be ugly) and all the girls including Faris' ex-Playboy bunny all learn from each other.

Now like I said I'm not here to pretend it's high art, and it's not necessarily out original - it seems every college films involving sororities or whatever after have an underdog and an evil counterpart - of course when men, and other people start giving the girls attention they start becoming more like the other sororities until they can find the right balance.

Casting wise the girls all deliver likable performances including those I haven't mentioned like Rumer Willis and Katherine McPhee and Hugh Hefner plays himself and doesn't really do too bad, I would complain the Colin Hanks as Faris' love interest though as very little do - so much that he might as well have not featured in the movie at all.

Overall, a movie that I will probably see multiple times more and still like it as much, if you want some dumb but with a heart (much like Faris' tittle character) then this is the movie for you.

10 - Waiting

Connection To WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER? - Anna Faris

Waiting is the sort of film that just passed me by, not completely unnoticed I was aware of it's existence on it's original release but considering it came out at one of my peak times for buying DVD, it's sort of surprising that I'd never seen it, not even caught it on TV because it's totally the film I'd put on to entertain myself for an hour and a half - also Anna Faris who I find adorable is also in this (though I'm not over-enthused about her current sit-com Mom what I've tried to get into)

It's fair to say this movie is a little bit uneven but sometimes is pretty funny and sometimes very funny - I enjoyed most of the characters particular Alanna Ubach's Naomi (pictured at the top) - on the subject of Ubach, I don't think I've ever give her enough credit she is often good value for money in the stuff I've seen her in - and Chi McBride as Bishop, are the two actors that deserve most mention.

I didn't have a problem with the rest of the cast, all of them often entertaining - Ryan Reynolds playing is typical persona is not a problem for me and Justin Long is likeable in his role. Faris though doesn't have quite enough to do for me liking.

The film is pretty plot-less and closer to just trying to show a particular day at this restaurant, some of it what you expect - doing stuff to a snotty customers food, bad tippers etc. - but the characters feel like they all know each other before the film as started if that makes sense - the familiarity is already there between everyone.

My biggest critiscm here really is there is a bit of homophobia it seems going through the movie - the word Fag used in a degotary term more then once, 2 gays customers who are on screen seconds are just as camp as can be and the lesbian who works there as the sole plot of getting a straight female customer (who's going through relationship) drunk. I can overlook this but it's a negative for me against the movie, and for the fag comments I guess that's the way people talk in certain places.

Overall, a funny and likable film most of the time, while it's more a series of little vignettes with the characters it works as a whole, I would happily watch it again sometime down the line.

9 - What's Your Number?

Connection To THE SITTER - Ari Graynor

I think I'm more tolerant to so-called "chick flicks" then the average male, don't get me wrong I enjoy action - all those manly sort of films - but I can sit and enjoy all sorts of chick flicks, which too me is honestly all that easier when the two ladies have decent chemistry and you care whether they get together or not.

Of course with that I'm talking about the romance aspect of it, which is often a key thing of something described as a chick flick, there's been some so-called great chick flicks or rom-coms where I just didn't give a crap if the two people ended or if they killed each other in a suicide pact or whatever - my natural thing for not liking Meg Ryan (Innerspace excluded) means when she's in that area, the film as already lost me -

Happily for me Anna Faris and Chris Evans, the stars of this movie have easy chemistry before the inevitable falling for each other, then something keeping them apart then a final grand gesture, the movie sees the only-in-the-land-of-film-and-TV issue of Anna Faris getting hung up of having slept with 20 men, way more then most of her friends and her engaged sister (Ari Graynor) and decides it sort of enough and maybe she as found her soulmate between the guys she's already been in, Chris Evans plays her next door neighbour who sleeps around and puts his detective skills to good use to find the 20 men so she can she can see if one of them was the one that got away.

Most of her exes are familiar faces who drop by for fun cameos - Martin Freeman, Andy Samberg etc. and Faris real life beau Chris Pratt plays an ex she keeps accidentally stalking - all of them for whatever reason are proven to not actually being the one, during this time it's clear Faris and Evans are falling for each other.

Like I say that description there nails it, it's something that wouldn't happen in real life unless you was really trying to recreate a rom-com plot, but the film gets by on the chemistry of the leads and some funny scenes.

On a note, I don't know which came first but the opening is identical to Bridesmaids opening, both where released in 2011 so I just think it's a case of both villages inventing the wheel at the same time. and on a more pervert note - Anna Faris has a nice body - she shows her butt off and yeah I thought this bit would be worth mentioning. 

It's negative is really the thing that didn't bother me, the predictableness of it all - sometimes the obvious route is the right route for a film.

Overall it's enjoyable, charming and funny, it's not a classic but it's a worthy entry into the rom-com genre,