MSNBC:

“Legally Blonde” scribes Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith try desperately to rekindle the magic of that earlier triumph-of-the-bimbo classic, but “House Bunny” lacks the pop of a smart comedy. Characters completely change at random, misunderstandings are inflated to catastrophic levels, and the sputtering narrative has that feel of a movie that’s been extensively re-edited past the point of all coherence.

No surprise, then, that the director behind this mishmash is one Fred Wolf, who made his behind-the-camera debut with “Strange Wilderness,” which remains as of this writing the very worst film of 2008. There was nowhere to go but up from there, granted, but “House Bunny” doesn’t make the case that this man should be allowed within 25 yards of a movie camera. Watch the trailer on YouTube, and you’re done.

Associated Press:

It's essentially a female remake of Revenge of the Nerds, with a script from Legally Blonde writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. Faris functions as a descendant from a long line of supposedly dumb blondes, but she's so unafraid of going for the big, goofy laugh that she makes this familiar role her own.

USA Today:

The movie gently mocks the Playboy ethos while portraying Hugh Hefner as a defanged old softie and Faris is often charming. She has one hilarious trick that shows how far she will go for a laugh — in a good way.

While Faris' comic fearlessness is a major asset, the movie tries to soften its edges with an obvious message —"be yourself" — that comes across as heartfelt and sincere as a centerfold's list of turn-ons.

The Hollywood Reporter:

It might wear its derivative, "Legally Blonde"-meets-"Mean Girls" trappings like a rhinestone thong, but strip away the second-hand attire, and "The House Bunny" still manages to stand on its own two skyscraper heels thanks to the comic force of nature that is Anna Faris.

Variety:

It's a little stroke of genius: Make a female-empowerment movie and cast it with Playboy Bunnies. Elevated via a strong script by "Legally Blonde" scribes Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz, "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. Titles are sometimes dumped in mid- to late August, but good buzz could help this Fred Wolf-directed laffer break out beyond its young-femme target audience.

The New York Times:

All hail Anna Faris, fake bimbo par excellence, master of the birdbrained double take, our reigning queen of intelligent stupidity. On the sneaker-clad heels of “Smiley Face,” an inspired stoner farce from 2007, come the plastic stiletto shenanigans of “The House Bunny,” a breezy, ditzy comedy about the misadventures of a Playboy bunny exiled from the chinchilla cocoon of Hugh Hefner’s mansion.

The Village Voice:

Directed with little distinction by SNL vet Fred Wolf, The House Bunny operates on a skin-deep level and offers up the predictable inner-beauty message: As Faris turns her fugly charges into superficially gorgeous, judgmental twits, she finds her own slutty charms at a loss to woo the smart, dorky-cute man of her dreams (Colin Hanks). The screenwriting team of Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith are rather shamelessly aping their own Legally Blonde here, but they’ve given Faris some great ditzy one-liners and a few slapstick pratfalls worthy of Olympic gold. The movie basically exists on one plane, while Faris is on another—that exclusive aerie occupied by Judy Holliday, Carole Lombard, Lucille Ball and a few other blissfully original comedy goddesses.

Slate:

I don't want to even think about what all this means as a feminist allegory. Like Grease and The Breakfast Club, The House Bunny all but announces that lip gloss and tarty outfits pave the way to female self-actualization. And unlike those movies, it doesn't make the makeover process look particularly fun (though I did love a mascara-tutorial scene in which Shelley lectures the girls, "Remember, the eyes are the nipples of the face"). The Zetas—played by an odd lineup of newcomers that includes American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee and Rumer Willis, Bruce and Demi's daughter—go from stereotyped losers to stereotyped hotties with logic-defying speed (and making McPhee's character visibly pregnant without providing any back story is a tad disconcerting). But there's real pathos to a scene in which Shelley trots out all her porn-based seduction tricks on a date, only to discover that she's grossed out her man and made a fool of herself. The House Bunny can go only so far in satirizing the Playboy empire though, since it's clearly been approved by Hefner (who plays himself in scenes that take place inside the real mansion). But its founding premise—that the laws of soft porn translate poorly to the real world—is as close to a female empowerment message as you can expect in a movie like this.

'The House Bunny' opens today in wide release.

Related: Interview with Anna Faris in T Magazine [NYT]

The Good:
Rumer Willis looks elegant, yes. But the girl is 20, people! She should be doing fun fashion!
Not gonna lie to you: don't love the whole Leger bandage dress thing. But Kiely Williams' iteration is one of the better ones.
This is a "don't try this at home" moment; Malin Akerman makes this work, but few could.
Vail Bloom : trendy done nicely. Every component of this will look dated in two days.



The Bad:
If we went on Project Runway this is how every single one of our dresses would look, because we can't sketch or sew. I mean, the one dress we'd make before we got kicked off for doing something as ill-fitting, confining and unflattering as Katharine McPhee's.
Here's the thing: when you have breasts, there are certain trade-offs. One of the first ones is not being able to wear insubstantial asymmetrical silk cocktail dresses. Dana Goodman is not keeping up her part of the bargain.
Emmanuelle Chriqui: Please don't buy eveningwear from Forever21.
I said, please don't buy eveningwear from Forever21! God! It's like they're not even listening to a stranger commenting on their clothes a full day after they've already worn them! Jenna Dewan.
Kat Dennings's dress is cute, but it's too much for her small frame, and the neck is unflatteringly high.


The Ugly:
Adrienne Bailon's leopard tent was a mere "Bad" before I noticed the cleavage action.
I understand that as Hef's main girlfriend, Holly Madison has a certain responsibility to represent at all times. Well played, madam.

Images via Getty

The Good:
I know, right? It's hard not to be a Rumer Willis skeptic, and inquiring minds could probably ask why she's dressed like she's going to a debutante ball somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon, but she looks pretty!
The jury was out until the very last second on Katherine McPhee's blouse, but overall the silhouette works.
This month's Nylon cites Morticia Addams as a style icon (in fairness it also cites Mrs. Roeper and the kid from Silver Spoons but whatever.) Apparently Monet Mazur read this, too.


The Bad:
Doesn't Emma Stone look like Michelle Monaghan's little sister? The lace inserts take this frock into "Bad."
Jessica Szohr's look seems to walk an uncomfortable line between thrown-on denim and dressed-up evening denim.
If you look at Anna Faris' dress from a number of angles, you see that the bodice kind of stands away from the body in a way that's perhaps intended to be architectural but is kind of like the part of Circle of Friends where Benny/Minnie Driver says, "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I look like the prow of a ship!"



The Ugly:
It's nice that Lisa Origliasso and Jessica Origliasso of the Veronicas are so close. Although maybe a little distance would be useful, sartorially speaking.

Images via Getty