A brief, sum-it-all-up-in-one-line description of The House Bunny would probably go something like this: Imagine if a sequel to Legally Blonde and a sequel to Clueless had a child and it was adopted by a sequel to Revenge of the Nerds. That's The House Bunny. Thankfully, a strong and very funny performance from Anna Faris -- as well as decent-enough turns from Emma Stone and Kat Dennings -- save this late summer slacker from flunking out of theaters completely. It's familiar, it doesn't make you work for a laugh and, heck, for some it might be a nice way to cap off a long, dark, foul-mouthed summer full of superheroes, stoners and sequels.

To Shelley Darlingson (Faris), living in the Playboy Mansion is a fairytale come true. Sure, she's not a centerfold ... yet ... and was only featured in a few pictorials (Girls with GEDs, Girls with Charlie Sheen), but that doesn't stop her from bringing half-naked cheer and joy to anyone within shouting distance. Things take a turn for the worse, however, when Shelley's told that Hef doesn't want her in the mansion anymore -- that 27 is, like, 59 in Bunny years. With nowhere to go, a suitcase full of skimpy outfits and the rusty, beaten-up station wagon she arrived in, Shelley wanders the streets until eventually she stumbles upon a whole bunch of mansions that look just like home ... only they're fraternity and sorority houses ... but good ol' Shelley don't know the difference.

Prior to our interview with Anna Faris earlier today, Cinematical managed to spend some time with three of her co-stars in The House Bunny, namely Rumer Willis, Emma Stone and Katharine McPhee (who's recording an album now for a Spring '09 release, in case you happen to be a die hard McPhee nerd). And, yes, it's true what they say about sitting next to an American Idol finalist -- those butterflies in your stomach are real and they desperately want (and need) to hear a Whitney Houston cover for some odd reason.

In speaking with Rumer Willis about her upcoming projects, she mentioned that her mother, Demi Moore, had just finished work on her directorial debut -- a short film for Glamour Reel Moments called Streak. While Willis was tight-lipped on the film's plot, she did say it starred herself, Brittany Snow and Sarah Wright (who also has a role in The House Bunny). Other women who've directed shorts for GRM include Jennifer Aniston, Bryce Dallas Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow. You can find out more about the program over on its official website, and one imagines we'll catch Streak a little later this year.

In yet another case of similarly themed battling films, Variety reports that there's a new comedy on the way called Wild Cherry. This is just 11 days after we learned that Overture was going for the Freshly Popped story about a teen girl who is looking for the right guy to take her virginity. Did everyone see Juno and become inspired with thoughts about awkward teens having their first forays into sex?

Whatever the case, Rob Schneider, Tania Raymonde, Kristin Cavallari, Rumer Willis, and Ryan Merriman have signed on for the ensemble comedy, which was written by Chris Charney and will be directed by Dana Lustig. In this story, it's a bit less meat-factory hunting. Schneider is starring as the dad of a high school senior who is looking to give up her virginity to her football-kicker boyfriend. However, she then finds out that he's only dating her for his team's "bang book." Of course, that ends the talk of cherry popping, and she decides to get revenge. Taking a cue from the Greek play Lysistrata, the girl and her friends plan some payback, which I imagine means an all-out sex boycott for all of the "bang book" using jerks of the school.

It sounds like it could be a fun flick, a rarity for Schneider, but I still don't get this current cherry obsession. Regardless, the film heads to Winnipeg on May 7 to begin production.

After viewing the trailer for Anna Faris' new comedy The House Bunny for a second time, my review can only be summed up by the immortal words of Han Solo: "I've got a bad feeling about this." You can now check out the trailer above for the Playmate comedy starring Faris as a down-on-her-luck Playboy bunny named Shelley who becomes the den mother to a 'socially clueless' sorority.

Faris is joined by Rumer Willis, Kat Dennings and Katherine McPhee (of American Idol fame) as the loser girls of Zeta House. As Shelley teaches them about the important things in life like lip gloss and dancing in high heels, she learns valuable lessons about being not hot ... or something. The only real question I had after watching the trailer was how did Colin Hanks get talked into doing this movie?

It doesn't look much like him, but that's Adam Goldberg in the photo above. He looks tired. He has a gun. Things can't be going right for him on this particular day. Cinematical has just received two exclusive photos (see both in larger formats in the gallery below) from the upcoming film From Within -- which happens to be one of the more buzzed-about films hitting the Tribeca Film Festival later this month. From Within also stars Elizabeth Rice, Thomas Dekker, Laura Allen and Rumer Willis. Additionally, it was directed by Phedon Papamichael, who worked as a cinematographer on films like 3:10 to Yuma, The Pursuit of Happyness and The Weather Man. Check out the synopsis below:

"The small, serene community of Grovetown is shaken by the dual suicide of a young couple. When more suicides quickly follow, people in the evangelical town turn a blind eye and cling firmly to their deep-seated beliefs. Lindsay (Elizabeth Rice), a local student and girlfriend of the pastor's son, is not so dismissive. She begins to prod deeper into the mystery and befriends Aidan (Thomas Dekker), a non-believer whose family has stirred controversy before. Lindsay soon discovers that something evil and indescribable is at work, moving parasitically from victim to victim. As the frightened locals begin looking for revenge, Lindsay is convinced she will be the next to die and realizes that Aidan may be the only hope of eradicating the suicidal plague."

Following a long tradition of movie titles based on songs, the previously named House Bunny is now called I Know What Boys Like. And yeah, it's a good bet we'll be hearing the hit tune by The Waitresses in it, probably during the opening credits. Maybe a second time, too. Personally, I prefer for studios to exclusively attach song titles to biopics, but this time I find the new name so much better than the old, that I don't mind. Anyway, the comedy, starring Anna Faris as a former Playboy Bunny, has begun filming in Los Angeles. Recently some hot photos of Faris from the set hit the web, and before that we heard about the rest of the cast, which includes children to the stars Colin Hanks and Rumer Wilson Willis -- get Dakota Johnson and we've got "Spawn of the Bonfire of the Vanities" here -- and real-life Bunnies Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson.

Written by Legally Blonde scribes Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, I Know What Boys Like follows Faris' ex-Bunny as she gets kicked out of the Playboy Mansion and is taken in by a Sorority comprised of "socially clueless" girls who are about to lose their housing. Guessing by the new title, Faris' character will teach these young women what boys like, how to attract them and other valuable bits of information for females with only a concern for acquiring a husband. But I'm sure the girls also help their new sexy sister learn about more practical things, which don't involve looking like a Playmate. Since the movie has just begun production, it should be at least a year before it hits theaters, giving us plenty of time to forget the similar story of Sydney White, the Amanda Bynes vehicle opening in a few weeks. Of course, the upcoming college comedy is about a hot girl living in a Frat House full of dorks, after she's kicked out of a Sorority, so I guess they aren't too similar.

Her name has been circling a bunch of projects as of late, but it seems American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee has finally landed her first studio acting role (after already landing a part in the indie dark comedy The Last Caller). Take that Taylor Hicks! Mcphee has signed to star alongside Anna Faris in the untitled Happy Madison sorority flick we told you about recently. Columbia Pictures will distribute. Also joining the first female-driven comedy from Adam Sandler's shingle are Emma Stone, Rumer Willis, Kat Dennings and Dana Goodman. Fred Wolf will direct off a script penned by the Legally Blonde duo of Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. Story follows a Playboy bunny (Faris) who gets kicked out of the Playboy Mansion and settles into a role as house mother to the "lamest sorority on campus." I'm not exactly sure how one goes from Playboy Mansion to lame sorority house without at least stopping by Brett Ratner's casting couch first, but I guess we're supposed to suspend our disbelief a bit here.

Mcphee, for her first major role, will be playing a pregnant hippy. A pregnant sorority hippy, that is. Stone will act as the sorority's president, while Willis will play an insecure girl who wears an unnecessary backbrace, Dennings will show up as the token feminist (piercings included) and Goodman will take on the role of a girl who should have graduated years ago if she didn't constantly keep changing her major. (Hey, my best friend did that!) Like with most college comedies, there will be an evil, popular sorority -- and Sarah Wright has signed on to star as a conniving hottie from the other side. Shooting is set to begin later this month in Los Angeles. Personally, I'm just curious to see a female-centric Happy Madison flick. Since they're known for producing silly male-orientated films (mostly starring Sandler or one of his many pals), I wonder how this one will play out. Faris has potential if she's given the right material (a bit over-the-top in Just Friends, but I dug her), but I imagine the premise will rely on how "lame" they can make the rest of the cast, Mcphee included.

The other day I got sucked into watching Election on cable, and I suddenly remembered what a fabulous high school-set dark comedy was supposed to look like. In my opinion, there hasn't been a film like it since; these days all we get is pain medication and kids attempting suicide. Mean Girls was definitely a step in the right direction, but even that doesn't come close to Tracy Flick's antics. However, there is one film on the horizon that's showing a little bit of promise, even though the latest casting news doesn't exactly whet my appetite. The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Mischa Barton will star opposite Bruce Willis and his daughter Rumer Willis in the dark comedy The Sophomore for Yari Film Group.

When we first told you about this film it was being called Assassination of a High School President, but the title has since changed for obvious reasons (the words 'assassination' and 'high school' aren't allowed to be used in the same sentence these days, and for good reason). Pic, which is being labeled as a teenage take on Chinatown, revolves around a sophomore reporter (role not cast yet) who's persuaded by the most popular girl in school (Barton) to investigate the theft of SAT exams. Apparently, Bruce Willis will play a sadistic war veteran AND the school's principal. Meanwhile, the female Willis will take on the role of "school troublemaker." While I'm not crazy about Barton, I'm sure she'll have no problem playing some stuck-up popular chick, and the description of Bruce Willis' character alone has me interested. Will it fit into the same category as Election? I hope so. Brett Simon will direct, with principal photography beginning this August.

Ed. Note: Some initial plot descriptions were incorrect; I have since updated the information.