Anna Farris in "House Bunny"
courtesy of Sony Home Entertainment
“Bunny Beauty”

If you are in the mood for a movie to elevate your spirits then you can’t go wrong wi0th the new to DVD release of “The House Bunny. Sometimes the casting of a certain actor in a role elevates a movie from ordinary to special. Such is the case with the casting of Anna Farris in this movie. This young woman throws herself into the part and wins you over with her humor and her heart. The rest of the movie is pretty routine but Farris’ performance is anything but ordinary.

Farris plays Shelley Darlingson, a blonde bunny who lives at the Playboy Mansion. She appears to be one of Hugh Hefner’s favorites but on the day after her twenty-seventh birthday she gets a note from him telling her to vacate the premises. It seems twenty-seven is ancient in bunny years.

Stumbling around the streets of LA she comes upon a sorority house in need of a house mother. Zeta Alpha Zeta needs to get thirty new pledges or they will lose their house. The girls, led by Natalie (Emma Stone) are won over by Shelley who knows all about making the young women more attractive and fun.

The girls of the house include Harmony (“American Idol” finalist Katherine McPhee), Joanne (Rumer Willis), Carrie Mae (Dana Goodman), Mona (Kat Dennings) and Lilly (Kiely Williams). All of the girls start out plain but get total makeovers thanks to Shelley.

McPhee is satisfactory in her role though it does not require her to stretch as an actress. Still it is good to see her on screen and at the end of the film she has a song over the credits. Here’s hoping this kicks off her movie career.

With Farris channeling the sweetest and dumbest Marilyn Monroe image, who better to play her potential boyfriend than Tom Hanks son Colin. Just as Monroe partnered with Tom Ewell in “The Seven Year Itch,” Farris pairing with Hanks is perfect for the movie.

Whoever cast Anna Farris in this film should get a bonus based on the film’s success. She is the right actress for the right role at the right time. Her participation alone lifts this movie out of the ordinary to a level above.

For a fun time at the movies watching an actress do everything just right, pick up the DVD and watch Anna Farris in “The House Bunny.”

Not nearly as funny but trying twice as hard is “Burn After Reading,” a film by the infamous Coen Brothers. The Coen Brothers won the Academy Award for Best Picture last year with their quirky, horrific film “No Country For Old Men.” Their follow up to that movie is the quirky and insane “Burn After Reading.” This is a movie that focuses on bizarre characters doing bizarre things and none of it matters in the least. But being a Coen Brothers film many of the nation’s critics salivated all over it just because it existed. Hello world, the emperor is not wearing any clothes.

The film, now out on DVD, takes a look at Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand), a health club employee who is not happy with her body. She wants to have several surgeries to correct things, but that calls for a lot of money and her insurance company will not come through for her. When a disc is found at the gym belonging to former CIA employee Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) Linda seizes on this as an opportunity to get some extra cash.

She and her goofy co-worker Chad (Brad Pitt) devise a scheme to blackmail Cox into paying up. But getting the money proves to be a little difficult. Before this issue has been resolved there are many murders and many compromising situations.

George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins and J K Simmons are also in the film. They make contact with these other characters in one way or another. Some of them are funny while others are dramatic and none of them is impressive.

The star of the show is Pitt. He shows true acting talent as the aforementioned goofball Chad. With his pompadour hair and his Cheshire cat grin, this is a man to remember even when the movie is forgettable. Pitt has often been dismissed as too handsome to be talented but this movie proves that theory totally wrong.

The Coen Brothers are talented filmmakers. Their “Fargo” is one of my all time favorite films. However, “Burn After Reading” is a waste of their talent and my time. In this movie the plot is almost non-existent and their desire to be quirky and crazy just means the film is hard to follow and eventually boring. When it ends you will be glad it is over.

If you could pull out the Brad Pitt performance and disregard everything else then you might have something worthwhile. But then the movie would only be about twenty minutes long.

Jason Statham is no Brad Pitt but he is certainly worth watching in any movie he makes. He is known for his adrenaline laced movies from “Transporter” to “Crank.” Now he is back in a new one on DVD that is probably his most exciting to date. It is titled “Death Race” and it moves at warp speed from beginning to end.

Statham plays Jensen Ames, a former race car driver and now hard working family man. He, his wife and baby daughter live a conservative life trying to make ends meet. But all of that ends one night when he is knocked unconscious and his wife is killed. He is framed for the murder and sent to prison.

At the prison he is introduced to Warden Hennessey (Joan Allen) who tells him about the “death race.” This is the basis for a reality TV show and it is filmed at the prison. Several convicts are allowed to race cars and the one who wins five such races gets his freedom. In the past a driver known as “Frankenstein” won four races. This man raced in a mask so no one knew who he really was.

In the last race Frankenstein had been killed but his death had been kept secret. Now Hennessey wants Ames to take his place. The lure of freedom is enough to make Ames agree. He is given a team to help get a race car ready for him. This team is headed by a man called Coach (Ian McShane) who knows everything there is to know about cars.

Ames main opponent is Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson), a deadly opponent if there ever was one. In this race most of the entrants die on the race track. If the other drivers don’t get them the Warden has a few deadly tricks up her sleeve.

Statham is perfect as Jensen. He has the physique and the temperament to make him a man to be feared. Statham takes these roles seriously and plays them for all they are worth.

Also good is Gibson as his opponent. Gibson is another actor who gives credibility to all roles he undertakes. He oozes meanness and hatred for the prison and for the hand life has dealt him. Jason Clarke has some good moments as an evil guard. Natalie Martinez is the token female/love interest in the film.

Joan Allen is impressive as the warden but what did they do to her face! She looks puffy and unreal. It is as if she has been botoxed or something like that to within an inch of her life. Allen is a talented actress but this “new face” is a distraction.

If you like excitement in your movies then this is one you want to pick up tonight. It will certainly get your adrenaline rushing as these men race for their lives. “Death Race” is a one topic movie and that topic is excitement. Statham and company keep the action going and the danger soaring.

For the kids the movie of the week on DVD is “Beethoven’s Big Break.” It tells the story of an animal handler for the movies, played by Jonathan Silverman, who is stunned when the dog his son wants to keep as the family pet is selected to star in a film. This of course is Beethoven who steals the show and Eddie the animal handler’s heart.

This is a warm, wonderful movie for the entire family and will keep your kids totally enthralled as the big dog does his thing. Beethoven movies have always been popular and this one is no exception.

The movie also stars Jennifer Finnegan, Rhea Perlman, Moses Arias, Joey Fatone and SURPRISE Cesar Millan (the dog whisperer). Get this DVD and start the fun!
 

 

 

 

 

©2008 Jackie K. Cooper

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