The House Bunny is better on airplanes.

Ed and I attempted to watch The House Bunny recently, but I found it so excruciating that I had to turn it off after about ten minutes. I like Anna Faris and The Girls Next Door, and the fact that both of the writers are women. But it was just so agonizing to watch, I just couldn't bear the stupidity. Every character was such a shallow caricature, I had to wonder if the filmmakers had ever actually encountered a real live human being. For example, the smart but socially awkward pre-makeover Zeta sisters couldn't be smart but socially awkward in a way that felt even remotely genuine. No, they had to be spastic mutant freaks, bashing the audience over the head with the over the top characterization. And Shelley the Playboy bunny couldn't be ditzy and sweet and human, she had to be brainless to the point of utter absurdity. I can't think of a single character that had even a hint of complexity; they were all insultingly flat. So anyway, we gave up on The House Bunny because I was in such distress.

A couple of days later, I was on an airplane, flying home for Christmas. And it happened to be one of the planes with personal screens on the back of each seat, so you can choose from an assortment of movies and television shows. I was reading a magazine and listening to my iPod when I noticed that the guy sitting next to me was watching The House Bunny and cracking up. After seeing how much he was clearly enjoying the movie, I decided to give it another try. And while the flatness of the characters still bothered me, I enjoyed the movie and was entertained enough to pass the time. I think there were a few scenes cut from the airplane version, which may actually have been an improvement.

So, basically, The House Bunny was a pretty big disappointment, but it was entertaining enough to watch on an airplane.