“The House Bunny” may not have conquered the box-office over the weekend — “Tropic Thunder” held onto the #1 spot — but Anna Faris’ giddy comedy did almost as well as the leader, and as Buzz Aldrin once said, second comes right after first.

And based on the unanimous critical praise for Faris’ performance — hell, some of us even went that extra mile for her — the movie has achieved its artistic goal: Anna Faris is finally a star.

It’s almost like there was some kind of plan at work here.