It's the question of the zebra's stripes -- is the comedy "The House Bunny" a bad movie with a handful of good parts, or is it a good movie with a whole lot of boring stuff?

Of course, it doesn't matter (it doesn't matter to the zebra, either, whether it is black with white stripes or white with black stripes). Either way, the movie is uneven, monumentally uneven. It's kind of impressive, actually.

Anna Faris stars as Shelley, and she really shouldn't, because Faris cannot carry a movie by herself. Her talents, and they are considerable, lie in playing comedic supporting characters. Nonetheless, here she is, front and center as a Playboy bunny living a dream life in the Neverland known as the Playboy Mansion.

When she is kicked out of the Mansion for being too old -- she just turned 27-- she is momentarily without a place to live. But then she realizes that the things she knows best -- how to attract men and throw parties -- can be of great use to a particular sorority of weird misfits with no social skills.

In no time, she has the young women dressing like sluts and becoming popular. Popularity is important, because if the sorority does not sign more pledges, it will lose its charter (apparently, it's on double secret probation).

If you think it would be way too obvious to have a rival snooty sorority that wants them to fail, you're wrong.

Faris plays Shelley as a blonde bimbette with a good heart but a meager brain, the kind of stereotype that was so popular in the'50s. Every once in a while, the stupid things she says are quite amusing ("Instead of the mahi mahi, could I just have one mahi? Because I'm not that hungry"), but most of the time they are just stupid.

Writers Karen McCullah Lutz (a James Madison University grad) and Kirsten Smith also wrote "Legally Blonde," and "The House Bunny" is sort of "Legally Blonde Lite." The main character isn't as well-developed and the jokes aren't as funny, but the idea is sort of the same.

Director Fred Wolf is from the Adam Sandler stable of filmmakers and has also worked with David Spade, which means "The House Bunny" is a definite step up for him. But he does not have a sense of natural comic rhythms, and he is not able to do the director's primary job: to draw the best performances out of his actors.

Still, one must give Wolf credit where it is due. One major scene is an Aztec-themed party, and although it is difficult to make a filmed party seem to be fun, Wolf makes this one look like a blast.
Contact Daniel Neman at (804) 649-6408 or dneman@timesdispatch.com.