Pardon me for pre-empting the review but - Yay! Everyone loves an inside joke!! I don't actually, but Senator Palpatine is a difficult dude to work into the strip. Before I go any further, please have a quick look at a some of the good Senator’s greatest hits over the years: (Episode III, Four Brothers, Night Watch, Saw III, Are We Done Yet)

He's not a complicated character to explain but explaining him over and over again in the comics would become tedious. Not just to you guys but to me as well. The real fun for me now is trying to find new ways to use his "one note" punch line. I'm holding out hope that even if some people need to do some research to enjoy this comic, faithful readers got a good laugh when they came to the site today.

It's true though, that I'm not a huge fan of inside jokes. If you'll notice, I most often use them in bursts and then never again. The ice cream sandwich, the football to the groin, Jesutron - all funny reoccurring jokes that would be nearly impossible to work in as primary punch lines this far down the line. Someone told me recently that they missed the inside jokes and it occurred to me that it was indeed time to dust off Palpatine. He's probably the most popular reoccurring joke I've got, but every time I begin to write a strip for him I hear people in the back of my head wondering who the hell he is. I don't like that.

Nowadays I try to only use Palpatine when I like the joke. When I'm confident it'll be something more than what I've done before. I think this comic is the biggest departure as it's the most words he's ever said in a strip since his first appearance in the Episode III strip. I hope you guys like it. If you don't - well there's a new strip right around the corner.

If you REALLY don’t like it then today’s incentive image over at Buzz is Palpatine in all his glory. As always, you can check out all the past vote incentive images in this thread on the boards. Okay. Enough. On to the review!

The House Bunny

Starring: Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Hugh Hefner, Christopher McDonald, Beverly D'Angelo, Katharine McPhee, Rumer Willis,

Directed by: Fred Wolf

Sony Pictures

The Official Site of The House Bunny

Discuss The House Bunny on the boards!

Don’t feel like reading the long review - catch the Quick Look at Flixster!

I feel a little dirty. Not because I had to go see The House Bunny alone or that the only legitimate reason for someone my gender and my age to be there alone is that he’s perverted. (Or of course writing a movie review… but no one ever falls for that.) No, that’s not why I feel dirty, and it also has nothing to do with the fact that I spent more time during the meandering first half hour of the dry, paint-by-numbers, set-up figuring out which order I would do the cast in, then actively trying to get invested in the story. (Oh so you can be a movie critic and a pervert? Whadda ya know!?) No, I felt dirty because after spending the majority of the opening of the film being a mid-drift away from boredom, I got interested in the film only after the nerds with individuality totally got their slut on.

It’s terrible, I know, and pretty much goes against everything this movie about a Playboy Bunny (the wonderful Anna Faris) who, after being kicked out of the Playboy Mansion on her cotton tail bottom, becomes a house mother at the least popular sorority on campus in hopes of helping an unlikely band of misfits turn some heads and save their house, stands for. Or does it?

You’d think so right, but the movie has no problem stringing you a long a little while. Once Shelley (the Bunny) works her magic on the house of social outcasts, they become the hottest thing on campus. And that’s great! The girls look stunning in their brand new makeovers and the house is throwing the greatest parties of all time. It’s just what everyone wanted! Until the movie is more than half over, introducing new distractions like a new love interest for Shelley and a bizarre (yet somehow oddly satisfying) b-plot explaining her true dismissal from the Playboy Mansion, and the beautified misfits are STILL content with being superficial instead of substantial.

We all know how the movie is supposed to work out but you can’t help but wonder if the filmmakers do as they putter along avoiding the obvious. For the longest time House Bunny is this movie, this movie about hot girls being hot and that being great. The wrong kind of movie.

Eventually everything works out like it’s supposed to and you feel silly having worried it might not, but it totally feels as if, 20 minutes before the movie was over, someone was like, "Oh right, there's supposed to be a positive message!"

I would have loved if they'd used their intelligence and quirkiness in tandem with their newfound hotness. One to help the other. Kat Denning’s character uses her allure for research, but it seems like there were too many avenues left unexplored.

Luckily, even with a patchy pace, the cast has a lot of appeal (well beyond their hotness). Faris is great. While I would have loved for the sweet, smart soul behind Shelley to break out a little more often then it did, I think she really nails the stereotype of the character and wins us over. We’re definitely rooting for her throughout. She’s a great young talent that’s been fighting a while for her chance to shine and I think House Bunny is a nice powerhouse debut for her.

If I’m being honest though, I was more impressed with the performance of Emma Stone who I knew would be fine in the post make-over, gorgeous redhead on campus scenes, but really made some unexpected and successful choices for her nerdy alter ego. Awkward speech patterns and mannerisms make her character so much more than the geek-speak the script provides. You’ll actually believe she’s a huge nerd and, while it’s not exactly necessary to believe that for you to enjoy the movie, the extra effort made a big difference to me.

House Bunny is a better film in hind sight. It’s easier to see its pacing and find peace that, even though it takes a roundabout path getting there, it still ends up where it’s supposed to. Then the more you look back the more you’ll enjoy it. The laughs seem stronger, the characters more distinct, and we’re all better off for the experience regardless of a little dirty guilt over enjoying a great looking cast. Tough movie to get through though.

Rating: 6 out of 10 - House Bunny is cute but unremarkable. There are some laughs and a real story (even if it insists on taking occasional breaks to be boring) but what they did here was take a cute idea and make a cute movie that will neither offend or impress anyone. Unless you really hate hot girls or the concept of sisterhood or “being true to yourself� or some such crap.

Extra points for the beautiful cast of ladies who did a fine job as well as Colin Hanks who absolutely needs to be in more movies! He’s taking an interesting route to stardom with a resume that includes supporting work in TV’s Roswell, ridiculous teen comedies like Get Over It and Whatever it Takes, not to mention Peter Jackson’s Kong remake and a wonderful shot at center stage with the underrated coming of age movie Orange County. As Faris’ romantic interest in Bunny it was like seeing him in a new light. He’s fantastic as the smart, passionate obstacle for Faris’ bubbly bunny to win over. I would welcome him in any romantic comedy.

Not for me, but this isn’t exactly my kind of movie. If you bought Legally Blonde and Mean Girls (for the fashion not the satire) the day they came out then you’ll absolutely love adding House Bunny to your collection.

Bunny reminds me a lot of Legally Blonde, and the fact that it doesn’t quite measure up is a big part of the reason I wouldn’t even consider picking it up on DVD. Not that I own Legally Blonde, but I do own John Tucker Must Die so spend a few minutes trying to figure that out. Blonde was able to embrace and use the dumb blonde stereotypes, but still tell an interesting story and not force feed a message down our throats at the last second. It had a lot more fun with the genre, if you can even call “dumb blonde does good� a genre.

Bunny does non of that and, while harmless and amusing, never really brings something new to this kind of movie. I’m sure it’ll be seen in history as the first movie where Rumor Willis (Bruce and Demi’s eldest daughter) broke onto the scene (she’s actually pretty good. The back brace distracts from her giant chin, but even before the movie makeover she’s quietly geeky cute and comfortable in the herd.) and I would love to see the rival sororities put down phrase “So Nice.� Become the new “I said, ‘Good Day sir!’�, but beyond that it’s a cute movie that seems comfortable being just that.

A few nice opportunities for the JLCM Book Club were missed over the long summer, but now that things are slowing down at the theater I thought it would be a nice time to crack open a novel again. One of the most popular requested options for the Book Club, ever since the book-to-screen adaptation was first announced, is Choke, a story of sex and guilt money from the mind of the man that wrote Fight Club . Like many of you that were profoundly shaken by David Fincher's adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's street fighting classic, I sought out more of his books in hopes of more thrills. The first one I turned to was Choke and while it's nothing like Palahniuk's debut, it is rich, satisfying and truly disturbing in completely different ways.

The film adaptation, starring Sam Rockwell and directed by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clark Gregg, hits theatres the last week of September so there's plenty of time to pick up the book and finish it off in time to discuss it with the group. As in the past we'll be discussing spoilers in the coming weeks over in this thread here, and the weekend of the movie's release we'll be taking a closer look at how the two compare.

It's been at least 4 years since I read Choke so I'll definitely be taking another look at it. If you've read the book I'd recommend that you do the same. It'll be interesting to see if I can read through it a second time, replacing my mind's eye version of the characters with the one's Hollywood has cast. If you've not read the book - Do it. It's a little dirty and from what I remember the hero is one step above dog crap, but it still makes for a fun read.

Here's a quick link to the book on Amazon. It should reach you in about 3 days and there are options to buy used versions on the cheap.

Hey, check it out. Look who's floating around in the background of Wednesday's edition of Game U. Thanks to Josh for including me in on the fun. Everyone be sure to send him some love by following that link and devouring his archives.

Thanks to everyone that spent time Voting for Biteworld. We appreciate all the button clicking you were willing to do on our behalf. Annnnd that is that. I know I told you the next update would be Clone Wars free and since the Seanator showed up that’s not exactly true, but the next one will most assuredly, positively be Clone Wars free. Probably.