The DUFF (2015)
A high school senior instigates a social pecking order revolution after finding out that she has been labeled the DUFF - Designated Ugly Fat Friend - by her prettier, more popular counterparts.
Director: Ari Sandel
Writers: Josh A. Cagan (screenplay), Kody Keplinger (novel)
Stars: Mae Whitman, Bella Thorne, Robbie Amell | See full cast and crew »
Storyline
Bianca is a content high school senior whose world is shattered when she learns the student body knows her as 'The DUFF' (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) to her prettier, more popular friends. Now, despite the words of caution from her favorite teacher, she puts aside the potential distraction of her crush, Toby, and enlists Wesley, a slick but charming jock, to help reinvent herself. To save her senior year from turning into a total disaster, Bianca must find the confidence to overthrow the school's ruthless label maker Madison and remind everyone that no matter what people look or act like, we are all someone's DUFF.Written by CBS Films
The DUFF follows high school senior Bianca Piper who's life is turned upside down by the sudden revelation that she may be the 'DUFF' (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) in her group of friends. As she tries to rebel against this label, she recruits the help of her neighbor, Wesley Rush, whom she's known since childhood, to get the guy she's been crushing on for a long time.
I was actually excited for this movie mainly because it looked so funny, and I was right about it being funny. Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell are the best actors in the movie as they have some of the most hilarious scenes. The scenes with Amell's character trying to teach Whitman how to get guys was hilarious, and easily the best scenes in the movie. Bella Thorne did a good job as well, portraying the bitchy girl who rules the school, the typical cliché we all know and hate. Bianca Santos and Skyler Samuels both play Whitman's two friends who are much prettier than her (according to Bianca, of course), and they are great in their roles. I also have to mention Ken Jeong as Mr. Arthur, the teacher who helps Bianca out, he is a riot.
I really liked the humor in the film. It had a lot of inappropriate humor, but that's what made it great, because instead of sticking to tamer topics, it went right for the things most teens these days would find hilarious. Tying directly into that was the script. The script was brilliant. As I think I've mentioned, it was clichéd and that did bug me when I predicted a few of the things that would happen, but the dialogue was witty and caught me off guard, and I actually didn't predict some of the plot points, which I suppose is a good thing.
I enjoyed the different visual graphics that appeared on the screen at times. Especially during the 15 minutes. It used the typical way of introducing characters and such, with Whitman's character Bianca doing a narration, but they did it in such a funny way. They included stuff like "Dipshit" for Amell's character, and then "Passive Aggressive" for Thorne's character, and when she did something mean, it changed to "Aggressive Aggressive." That caught me off guard and made me laugh.
Overall, I really enjoyed The DUFF. Sure, the film is clichéd to all hell, but if we demanded completely original films all the time, we wouldn't have any films released. The acting, humor, script, dialogue, and the editing of the film were just all brilliant and elevated this film above a clichéd mess - it turned it into a coming-of-age film that I hope many kids in the future see. The best part about this film is truly that it gives a message that all teens need to know: Being yourself and accepting who you are is what's important, not a dumbass label that kids put on you. And I think that's just brilliant.