Review // The DUFF

[projekktor id=’17748′]

For those of you who haven’t seen the trailer, the acronym DUFF stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Pretty harsh right? But comical. Despite the offensive nature of the term the film manages to broach classic teen angst topics like peer pressure, bullying, and dealing with un-cool parents. The film finds itself somewhere between outrageously fun classic teen comedy and after school special.

Like most teen comedies, The DUFF’s Malloy High is nothing like the school I went to – regardless watching this film still made me glad I was no longer in high school. Mae Whitman stars as Bianca, the title DUFF, who ditches her best buds Jess (Skyler Samuels) and Casey (Bianca A. Santos) once she finds out that she’s their DUFF (even though they don’t know what it is at first). She then strikes a deal with her next door neighbour, Wesley (Robbie Amell), the classic jock, to de-duff her. As fate would have it, the pair bond over their makeover experience and defy the high school hierarchy by falling for each other much to the chagrin of Madison (Bella Throne), the school’s queen bee and Wesley’s ex.

Whitman and Amell have good on screen chemistry and according to Amell that had a lot to do with improvising lines and trying to make each other laugh on set. The adult supporting cast is pretty strong. Ken Jeong plays the sensible Mr. Arthur who is the voice of reason at the school – quite the departure from his role in Community – while Chris Wylde has a hilarious turn as the inappropriate science teacher. Alison Janney is wonderful (as always) as Bianca’s slightly out of touch single mother.

The feature film debut for Academy Award winning short film director Ari Sandel is enjoyable but it has its faults. For a film about breaking down stereotypes most of the supporting characters are two dimensional plot utilities. There’s Madison the mean girl, who’s mean to be popular. Casey the tough but sweat Latina who breaks the mould because she knows code. And her BFF Jess, the doe-eyed fashionista who is always kind. Janney is underused as the loving go-getter mother whose idea of balancing work and family means rarely getting involved in her teenager’s life. Plus, the stakes are pretty low.

The biggest crisis is an instance of cyber bullying that is essentially swept under the rug after the out-of-touch principal (Romany Malco) takes militant action against cell phones at school and Mr. Arthur has a heart to heart with Bianca. This might be a result of how out of touch I am with my inner teenager but most of the time I was questioning the motivation behind the rising action. But, honestly, I don’t want to over-think The DUFF. It’s pretty much exactly what you think it will be, a teen film. It has the bonus of a funny cast, an award-winning film-maker at the helm and the occasional scene with Robbie Amell shirtless.

Reviewed by Vithiya Murugadas.