User reviews

Without the chemistry btw its two leads, this movie would not have worked. Plus, the supporting cast of adults helped. This movie was better than it had any right to be.

Whitman has always been a talented actress. I look forward to her eventually getting some truly meaty movie roles.

In this tale which seems to take elements from Easy A and A Walk to Remember, Bianca (Mae Whitman) is told by her long-time neighbor and classmate, Wesley (Robbie Arnell) that she is the Designated Ugly Fat Friend (or DUFF for short).

All Bianca wants is Toby, and will even help out Wesley to get that. In A Walk to Remember kind of format the unlikely friends become close and Toby is revealed to also believe in 'the duff' as he yearns for Jess and Casey, Bianca's friends, in the hopes that Bianca will hook him up.

It all comes to a head with a She's All That-esque moment close to the end of the film. It's a low budget film, and there's not an all-star cast. I really only recognize Mae Whitman from Scott Pilgrim, Ken Jeong, and Allison Janney. Everyone else here feels forgettable.

Although everyone fills out their roles and no one sticks out like a sore thumb, the acting is what sells the film. Mae has perfect timing for her on-the-button lines to finish off scenes. Mae is approachable, which makes Bianca approachable.

I did find some things in the film out of touch, however. In the early stages of the blossoming friendship, Bianca dances and makes a fool of herself with a mannequin at the store while Wesley does his best to be Gerard Butler in The Ugly Truth. It's revealed that Wesley's ex is filming the whole situation and then later, Bianca accuses Wesley. It pains me how cringeworthy it is. Anyone with half a brain would realize he wouldn't do that and it was impossible to do it without Bianca noticing. The way that the recording is done is not subtle either.

Aside from that there are sprinkles of comedic moments and quotes throughout the film. It's light-hearted and not raunchy like American Pie can be. It's got some taste and some brilliant jokes. Overall, it's worth a view and anyone who enjoys teen comedies with a bit of romance won't regret it.

Take a look around and survey your group of friends, are they all good looking? Then you might be the designated ugly fat friend, or the DUFF.

Bianca's life becomes undone when someone reveals to her that she is the DUFF to her prettier and more popular high school friends. Frustrated, she retaliates by instigating the status quo and social hierarchy at her school.

This comedy finds its laughs as Bianca, played by Mae Whitman, desperately tries to reinvent herself and overcome DUFF status. A chronic DUFF, she can't do it alone, and makes a deal with her neighbor Wesley (Robbie Amell) to undo the damage.

A fan of Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell is the clear star of this film. Playing an endearing jock without being a cliché is quite a feat and his performance is scene stealing without being a parody.

From that plot alone there is not much to the story within the high school film The Duff. The film injects an archetype antagonist, played by Bella Thorne, the most classic mean girl ever invented. This character's existence is solely responsible for the plot feasibly being stretched to feature film length – otherwise the DUFF would be relegated to a solitary episode plot line on a WB television series.

Though briefly marketed as the Mean Girls of the 2010's, it really is in an inferior class in comparison to the phenom that was (and is) Mean Girls. The writing, plot and direction are all ho-hum: funny enough for a one time watch with your girlfriends with popcorn, but that's about it.

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Fortunately the trailer teaches us what DUFF means because otherwise no one would know. It's that approachable guy in your group of friends who no one cares about but is useful for inter-group communications. You didn't ever know anyone like that? Me neither, go figure. But, as a film mechanic it works.

Remember all that teen anxiety you used to have? Still got it? Yep me too. You're only comfortable with the people you know but how do you get to know someone new? If you're in touch with that feeling then this movie that explores awkward teenage romance will appeal.

There are more laughs in this than the average teen movie. The characters are explored a bit more fully than in the average teen movie. It is a better than average teen movie.

I enjoy watching teen movies to see what the young generation is up to. This movie gives the modern sensibility on final year high school students wading through the confusing labyrinth of romance and dating mingled with the vicissitudes of friendship. All with the absence of any help from adults, who generally are causing more stress than they are helping out. Feel good entertainment even if there is a little too much voice-over needed to explain what Bianca is going through.

The DUFF is quite entertaining and has a really nice poignant message. The film captures life, I mean the characters, and I'm mostly referring to Wesley (Robbie Amell) and Bianca (Mae Whitman), are realistic, humanized. I got a weird sense that I was watching people I knew and not a stereotypical film version of them. The movie has that documentary feel to it and it's due to how the leads portrayed their characters and how easy it is to relate to them.

The only real disappointment I have with the movie is that I thought it would be funnier. It's still a comedy but it's a little more serious than I expected. Watching the trailer I thought that I would laugh a hell of a lot more, specially when you look at the established comedic cast in it. Whitman and Amell do have good comedic timing and The DUFF is fairly funny but the quality of the jokes are not as high as I hopped they would be.

The story is intelligent, insightful, and kind of funny but it's still very predictable. The DUFF is on the edge of being great but it's not.

@wornoutspines

The Duff is one of the best teen movies I have ever seen! It conveys this amazing message about learning to love yourself. Duff is just a word but the meaning is impactful. Mae Whitman is perfect as Bianca. She's witty and fun as she portrays a girl who is trying to make it through high school. Robbie Amell was also great as the love interest. He learned to fall for the real her. Overall this movie will make you smile and laugh.

A film that was expected not surprise, but he did happily. Fun, shows modern and contemporary themes with a comic and natural touch. It presents an interesting terminology. It is predictable in parts of the plot and has clichés, but still the good parts of the film stand out more.

Mae Whitman provides a lovely, funny and intelligent character, Robbie Amell was interesting and fun too. One possible bright future for both. Allison Janney always great.

A nice movie with several moments to laugh and better than the other trash teen movies. I enjoy it a lot. 8/10

The Duff is just another filed attempt by film makers to make a movie from what was actually a great book. There were so many things wrong with this film that I don't even know where to start. The book was about how stereotyping is a pile of crap, yet the film strove to make stereotypes out of the characters. They made Wesley stupid and all about his body, they made Bianca 'awkward' and socially inept, they made Casey and Jessica look shallow and self-obsessed, and worst of all, they made Toby into an indie, guitar playing dreamboy with long hair. All the characters were meant to be AVERAGE (except maybe Wesley, who was meant to be particularly attractive), because the message of the book was that stereotypes don't exist and everyone is actually leading really similar lives and you shouldn't judge. I basically hate this movie and all that it stands for. If I could, I would give it a zero, because I was so disappointed that the makers of it had A* material to work with, real characters and real talk about the world, and they made it just another teen movie.

I never herd the term Duff before and I don't know if it exist in real culture, but it made for a humorous movie.

Bianca Piper is The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). Though it sounds very cruel when spelled out, abbreviated it just means your not as cool or as hot as the friends you hang around, and if your a teenage girl who was made aware of this by your idiot jock next store neighbor without previous knowledge that you were different from your herd, that could put you on a downward spiral.

This movie is just more proof that teenagers don't change (technology does and social media plays a very large part in this movie), which is why the movie seems formulated. I would not spoil anything if I told you how it ends so long as you have seen a teen comedy before.

I find the topic of the Duff fascinating. The character itself has been seen in every teen movie ever. It's always the main protagonist, the semi-cooler kid that wants the protagonist to party and the third wheel, that now has a name. For the first time in teen comedy history(I think) that third wheel got it's own flick and it turns out the Duff is funnier than the one liners we had it say over the course of time.

Mae Whitman played the character with amusing results.

I totally recommended seeing this film. highly enjoyable

It's a fresh idea ,, new definitions and it's kinda purposeful which makes it a bit exciting .. not the type of comedy where you laugh your A$$ off ,, but it has more than a bunch of funny bits which made it fine in that area. Ken Jeong appearance was one of the few of scenes that intrigued me to keep on watching the movie, Hilarious man.. to be fair ,, this project would look so much better as a TV movie or probably as a series on CBS, and it could hit huge success, but the idea of series based on these type of stories is not really new on TV (like "Awkward" 6 seasons so far on MTV which is a success),, the plot seemed entangled but it went toward a clear goals .. the writing looked okay ,, tight in some parts but still it didn't help much to cover some holes in the production as there were a couple of still scenes in the mid of the movie.

As for the cast ,, it was well picked .. again Ken Jeong in the beginning of the movie ,, he was really funny ,, the girl from "parenthood" ;) Mae Whitman she has flown up high to be really good funny gal and all the other girls as well were fine,, Chris Wylde was hilarious in the end of the movie :D ,, Robbie Amell really good acting all popular and careless .. "you were nerdy on fire in the flash" :D :D,, adding the lovable Allison Janney i think all of that crew made the movie a bit more funny and well it helped out with the rating.

Overall,, it is fresh enjoyable movie .. with a funny bits from another perspective and not forgetting to shine a light on cyber bullying problem.. so it is a recommended.

The Duff is another movie in the expansive Teen RomCom, but it stands out for its charm, message, and how the plot is delivered. Is it perfect? No. However, Mae Whitman (Bianca) is charming throughout, Robbie Amell (Wesley) does good work, and Ken Jeong (Mr. Arthur) nails every scene he's in. Bianca Santos (Casey), Skyler Samuels (Jess), and Bella Thorne (Madison Morgan) play their roles effectively. Allison Janney (Dottie) also does well with her role.

Yes, the plot pushes towards the genre rather than harsh realism during certain points as expected. Those moments within the teen genre of films is always present, and shouldn't take away from the overall feel of the film. Overall, The Duff is fun.

Real Score: 6.6

Tbh when I saw the name of the film I presumed it was about a pregnant girl. Never the less it's a good enough high school comedy coming of age film. Nothing new or special but there's enough laughs to get by and it's a heartwarming enough story. Fits the bill for a quiet night in not paying complete attention with a takeaway perfectly.

Teen comedies are the best! I have always high school comedies such as Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), American Pie (1999), Bring It On (2000), Mean Girls (2004), and Superbad (2007). I was really exciting about seeing The DUFF, as there as hasn't been a whole lot of teen comedies recently. This movie follows Bianca Piper (played by Mae Whitman), a high school senior who's learns she has been labeled the DUFF, short for Designated Ugly Fat Friend, by her classmates. The DUFF is basically the friend who is least prettiest in a group. Bianca decides she must reinvent herself, and then turn the tables on snobby hot-girl Madison Morgan (Bella Thorne) to restructure the school's society.

This film reminded me a lot of Mean Girls, it deals with similar themes of high school popularity and spreading rumors. While its not quite on the level of Mean Girls, its still very clever and very original. Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell (who plays the football jock who Bianca gets help for advice) have some good comedic chemistry. Bella Thorne also plays an interesting role, as one of Bianca's classmates who is very snobby and judgmental, and tries to throw her under the bus. She is a lot like Rachel McAdam's character from Mean Girls. I did find it kinda weird for Mae Whitman and Bella Thorne to be playing classmates as Whitman is nine years older than Thorne. I also loved Ken Jeong, who plays Bianca's teacher.

Overall, I was satisfied with this movie, I had its funny scene here and there, especially when Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell is on screen. This film will definitely please a fair amount of teenagers and probably adults like.

A teenage movie that obviously will play out one way or another depending on whether you like those or not. It's pretty witty and it has some genuine jokes in it (not to mention some very funny supporting cast to boot with). The story itself is as in many cases, very predictable. You know who the real "target" of affection is going to be.

But the movie is able to win one over, if you buy into the whole light heartiness of the movie. The movie as some before it is very self aware and there are many in jokes in this. It's also refreshing to see the main girl being a horror movie fan. It's also interesting to see how much PG-13 movies have evolved over the years and how much more is allowed to be said in them. All in all, a lot of fun

The premise of the movie might be a little cliche. But it definitely brings back the 90s movie vibe where things are simple yet heart warming. You might also get an epiphany after the movie! A duff? Who me? Omg!

The comedic movie, The Duff, is hilarious, relatable and worth watching. The film is about high-school senior Bianca, played by Mae Whitman, who finds out that she is the DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) of her attractive group of friends. Determined to change her DUFF image and impress her crush Toby, she turns to her popular neighbor Wesley Rush, played by Robbie Amell, to give her a complete makeover. Through her journey of transformation, she gains self confidence and shows the school that everybody is a DUFF.

Not only do I enjoy that the movie starts off fast, but I really like that it starts with a cool, graphic newspaper clip that explains high school and the different types of people in high school. Being a high school student myself, I was really surprised at how relatable the movie is, especially to today's generation of teenagers. It doesn't just portray the generic, stereotypical high school student that is so outdated. The movie has a lot of familiar celebrity stars that I enjoyed seeing. The performances by Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Allison Janney and Ken Jeong are especially hilarious and very entertaining.

The movie is hilarious, yet deep. Most comedy movies are really funny, yet pointless or lack an overall message. I laughed so often and even shed a tear in a heartfelt scene. The facial expressions are priceless and memorable. I respect this film for being extremely funny while also having a deep, motivational moral lesson and theme. I enjoyed the plot and moral of the story as much the comedy. The movie has a lot of references that are very comical. One example is an episode of the Simpsons that the movie shows. The movie also has really entertaining graphics that make the movie even more unique, some of this include labels and an interactive screen effect.

This film is one I will watch multiple times and tell my friends to watch, yet I do not recommend it as a family movie. The film may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13 due to inappropriate language and actions. I definitely recommend the movie for teenagers in high school, especially girls. I recommend the movie to ages between 13 and 18. I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars.