'Bunny'-cute, fox-clever

Faris brought the character to writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, whose "Legally Blonde" catapulted Reese Witherspoon into the top rank of Hollywood actresses. Her original conception of Shelley was, she admits, "much darker": a hardened drug addict returning home to her conservative small town, perhaps to her abusive father. The reaction, fortunately, was skeptical. "When I told the writers, they were like, 'Hmmm. Or she could become a house mom!' " Faris says.

Squeezed into Shelley's skimpy costumes, Faris pitched the character to several studios before making a deal with Sandler's Happy Madison productions. The result was her first leading role in a studio movie, as well as her first executive producer credit.

Faris got her first taste of being in the front seat in 2007's "Smiley Face." As a struggling, stoned-to-the-gills actress, she dominates the movie's every scene, wandering the streets of greater Los Angeles in a bong-smoke haze. When "Smiley Face" premiered at Sundance, critics hailed Faris' performance as a comic tour de force, predicting that it would instantly upgrade her from supporting parts to leading roles. But, after letting the Sundance heat cool to a dull glow, the movie's distributor gave it the scantest of token releases, opening it in a handful of theaters in the thick of the holiday season -- not exactly high time for stoner comedies.

Still, "Smiley Face" proved Faris could carry a movie, and her constant presence on set during the brisk 30-day shoot allowed her to take "more of a leadership role." "I was so passionate about that movie. I still am. It's such an unusual character for a woman to be able to play. It's the only role I've played so far that has no love interest. Well, I guess, weed."

The bubbly, bodacious Shelley is a world away from "Smiley Face's" disheveled slacker, but they share a certain wide-eyed innocence, a quality Faris has specialized in since the first "Scary Movie," directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. "I remember asking Keenen why he cast me," Faris says. "He said, 'Because you had no idea what you were doing.' I've thought about that answer a lot, and I totally agree with him. I was just willing -- the nerdy girl in class who always raises her hand. 'I can do it! Call on me!' "

Although Faris is no longer a newbie, the can-do attitude persists, which is how, during filming of "The House Bunny," she found herself atop the hood of a wet, soapy car in a tiny bikini and platform shoes. "It was really unsafe," she says with a laugh. "But I'll do just about anything for the character."