The DUFF

Starring: Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Ken Jeong, Allison Janney, Bianca A. Santos, Skyler Samuels, Romany Malco, Nick Eversman, Chris Wylde, Rebecca Weil
Directed by: Ari Sandell
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A high school student (Mae Whitman) is horrified to learn that she's a DUFF- a Designated Ugly Fat Friend.

Review:

Tim: High school comedies come along fairly often, and like most genres, you always get a mixed bag. The DUFF is one of the more intelligent, entertaining ones. It doesn't do nearly enough to be included in a conversation about the all-time classics, but it's funny and enjoyable.

Like many people, I hadn't heard of the concept of a DUFF. I suppose it kind of makes sense, although the assertion that everyone has one is simply a poor generalization. Still, there is some truth to the idea of people comparing themselves to their friends. I do believe that happens- I'm smarter, I'm hotter, I'm more athletic, whatever it is. This movie takes the idea that we tend to compare ourselves to others and explores some of the more damaging side effects of that. It's all done with lighthearted banter and comedy, but I appreciated there was something real underneath it all.

A big determining factor in how you feel about The DUFF will come from how you feel about the two main characters. Mae Whitman is very good in the lead role, cast to be not as "classically" hot as her friends. Whitman isn't ugly or fat (don't worry, that's explained in the film), but she serves the DUFF role for her friends. Whitman is really good, her comedic timing is impeccable. She's easy to like here. Robbie Amell is her childhood friend, the "hot" Quarterback. Clearly, in terms of high school hierarchy, he's out of her league. The story hinges on you believing these two could (and would) be friends. I'm not suggesting that it's impossible or implausible to befriend people outside of your high school social circle. If you find their budding friendship hard to believe, though, the whole story crumbles and falls apart. If you can buy into it, you should have a fun time as the story develops. A great deal depends on Whitman and Amell selling that friendship, and I believe they mostly pull it off. I will say that while I didn't love Amell, I liked him significantly more than I expected. Too many movies are ruined because they cast the love interest based solely on looks, forgetting that actual acting ability is fairly critical. I thought Amell did well with the role.

The supporting cast is fine. Bella Thorne was certainly worthy of our hate as the chief antagonist. I do feel like her character was a bit one-sided and unnecessarily nasty. Perhaps there are a lot of people like that, but I wished for a more complex villain. Ken Jeong was fine, but he didn't add a whole lot. I do will say that his line about having just ate a bagel was one of the funniest scenes of the whole film. The rest of the cast were good looking but totally forgettable.

One of my big complaints with the film is that many of the plot points require an enormous suspension of disbelief. We're asked to believe that a character happens to see another character doing something embarrassing, then takes a video of them on their phone for minutes, without being seen. A bit hard to believe, but okay. Then later, we're expected to believe that same character, while out running in the middle of the woods, stumbles across the same character doing something scandalous, has their phone, and videos that- again, without being seen. It was just too much of a massive coincidence and so much of the plot movement depends on these actions. That's one example of occasionally lazy writing with the script.

So, while The DUFF has some flaws and ultimately proves to be too predictable, it's still mostly an intelligently written, funny movie that actually has something to say.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
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