Title: The Duff
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Ari Sandel
Starring: Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

What It Is: According to lore every group in high school has one. That friend that doesn’t quite fit in, who makes all his or her other friends look awesome. That person is known as a DUFF (or Designated Ugly Fat Friend). Sadly for Bianca (Whitman) she doesn’t realize that in her group that’s her. She doesn’t realize this until it’s pointed out to her by childhood neighbor and big man on campus Wesley (Amell). Upon discovering this Bianca sets out to prove she’s more then just some DUFF, and with a little help from Wesley perhaps she can capture the heart of her crush the singer-songwriter Toby (Nick Eversman). Will she succeed or will Wesley’s ex (on again off again) girlfriend and uber popular chick Madison (Thorne) stick a wrench in the plan.

What We Think: For a film I expected nothing but cliches from I was very surprised by the of surprise I got with this teen flick for the internet age. Mae Whitman is all kinds of charming and Robbie Amell left me shocked at his ability. Though it does fall back to many times on tired retread the things that are fresh here resonate enough to give the film a slick feel. It’s dangerously funny and equal parts enjoyable. I will say that Bella Thorne’s Madison was annoying. Not in the sense of her being the antagonist, not that type of annoyance but rather her performance seemed to be forcing it a bit here.

Our Grade:C+, While not reinventing the wheel it is an interesting little teen tale, that manages to circumvent it’s bullying title and premise and becomes an interesting story of self empowerment despite not always hitting it’s mark. I really am looking forward to seeing the next project from Thorne and Amell as I’ve not seen much from either. Whitman is always awesome, literally, in everything she’s in really can’t wait for her next thing. See it if it looks interesting to you, or if you’re in the target teen demographic. If you’re me and not it can still be interesting as a microcosm of today’s modern teen, and their damned angst!

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