Critics Admire, Loathe 'House Bunny' Playboy Comedy

Faris, 31, stars as Shelley Darlington, who is chosen to live at the Playboy Mansion, but whose stay there does not last long there after she is thrown out by a jealous rival.

Looking for work, Shelley joins a sorority, becoming a house mother. There, she teaches college girls about relationships and gives make-up tips so they can look more glamorous. Faris has said in interviews she worked out to be able to fit into the character's wardrobe, which includes, hair extensions, padded bras, skimpy outfits and 7-inch high heels.

There is a subplot involving Shelley falling in love with Oliver, played by Colin Hanks, a worker in a retirement home.

Reviews for the film are mixed.

John Anderson, a critic for Variety writes:

"Elevated via a strong script ... "The House Bunny" is a blissfully broad comedy that should catapult Anna Faris into a singular kind of stardom -- she's funny, she's sexy, and her movie distinguishes itself grandly from a mostly gore-and-groin-fixated summer comedy season."

Others, such as Tedy Fry of the Seattle Times, are much less charitable.

"In its shameless pandering to youth obsessed with sex and mindless gratification, this slapdash accretion of vapid gags is aimed squarely at empty-headed teens interested only in leering at supple bodies and dreaming of the day they can find a college where ogling hotties and humiliating losers is the core curriculum," he writes.

Faris defends he character.

"It's not that she's just plain dumb; it's just that she has never thought of herself as anything but that," Faris told Premiere Magazine about the character in the film. "When she gets the chance to date somebody who's not a part of that world, she's completely clueless."

In the film Playboy founder Hugh Hefner makes an appearance along with some real Playboy models.

Faris was also an executive producer in the film. Co-stars include Katharine McPHee, a runner up on 'American Idol' in 2006, and Rumer Willis, daughter of Demi Moore. Another role includes Emma Stone as a sorority president.

Critics have noted that the film has some aspects which are similar to "Legally Blonde" and "Revenge of the Nerds." The writers behind the film are Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, who also penned 'Legally Blonde.'

"Bunny is fashioned as a bawdy comedy with heart, but its reliance on formula undercuts the amusing moments," remarked Claudia Puig a film reviewer at USA Today.

The movie is the first female comedy from Adam Sandler's production company, Happy Madison Productions. It is being released through Columbia. The director is Fred Wolfe.