If you’ve seen “Mean Girls” or “Easy A,” you can get an idea of what “The DUFF” is about. It is based on a very similar storyline, but features 10 times the humor.
The one thing that keeps “The DUFF” from being another knockoff, however, is the amazing performance delivered by Mae Whitman. She is witty and has perfect timing for her humor. She manages to be smart, witty, and edgy despite the plain script.
For years, Bianca Piper (Whitman) has been the DUFF—designated ugly fat friend—to her two perfect friends, Jess (Skyler Samuels) and Casey (Bianca Santos). She never thinks about it until a popular boy, Wesley (Robbie Amell), tells her that the only reason that she is still friends with Jess and Casey is to make them look better.
“The DUFF” is a movie based off a book by Kody Keplinger. It gives a modernized makeover to a classic scenario involving an outcast who tries to fit in with the help of a good-looking, popular mentor. In one of the movie’s best scenes, a furious Bianca unfriends her pals on every social media site in the school library.
But one thing that I noticed in the movie was the fact that Mae Whitman is neither ugly nor fat. She’s very pretty and the perfect size. If this is what people consider ugly and fat, what does that say about the female population? Compared to the whole female population, few are actresses. Calling Whitman, a young and beautiful woman fat and ugly brings down many young girls’ self-esteem knowing that she is prettier and fit than they are.
Still, this movie is hilarious with all of its jokes, and it also portrayed high school students well. I was laughing to the point of tears. It shows the struggle of being the odd man out in your friend group and how to deal with it. “The DUFF” definitely has a lot of sexual humor. You should be warned before watching it that this movie includes crude sexual references and some strong language. I would recommend not watching it with your family, but with friends.
It reminds everyone that no matter what we look or act like, we are all someone’s DUFF.
-Kim Burns
