User reviews

The term Duff - I have never heard of that term. Maybe it exists in society or maybe it was something that Hollywood made up. I'm not positive on that.

So The Duff translates to (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). Which is the friend that is less attractive than the others in that particular CLICK.

It touches on some very real LIFE facts hidden in the story. CYBER Bullying, Social Media, Clicks, Stereotyping, Awkwardness and just the meanness of high school in general.

I felt like this movie was a cross between She's All That and Easy A. It was cute and funny. But it was very predictable.

Mae Whitman was a great choice for THE DUFF. She is great with one liners and usually plays the girl that is a bit odd, different or just does her own thing. And she always plays it well.

And of course this movie has Robbie Amell who is very nice to look at. I think a lot of teenage girls would really like this movie.

This is not a movie.

This is a science experiment.

The object is to establish once and for all whether films like Heathers, Easy A, and Mean Girls (among others) were actually quality productions -- or whether there is just something so magically interesting about High School romcoms that ANYBODY with a camera and a script they recently crayoned on the back of a menu can make a successful film...?

Well, the results are in.

Turns out you actually need a good story, a good script, a good director and charismatic actors to pull off a decent film in this genre.

Which pretty much eliminates this entry from the competition as it seems to have none of the above.

(Although Whitman and Amell both show potential, and one suspects with better material they COULD shine)

I have reviewed a lot of films but I cannot easily recall one where every opportunity for entertainment was either sabotaged or missed completely.

The film actually panders to its audience, throwing around internet tradenames as if, by their sheer volume, they can elevate the viewing experience.

At the 30 minute mark, the audience is asked to believe that two teens engaged in picking outfits in local department store could possibly "miss" the fact that they are being video'd by a third teen half-hidden behind a rack of dresses....? In Film School they explain that these are the sorts of "subliminal" turnoffs which make the viewer uncomfortable on a subconscious level, even if the conscious mind misses it.

Have no fear -- in this film the script repeats the same trope at the 1:00 mark where the same third party secretly videos the same couple, only this time in the woods.

Watta script!

Does the term "creatively bankrupt" strike a chord?

The ending tries, and that is the most I can say about it.

If anything it tries too hard, and in other reviews I have talked about the filmic dangers of putting too much "message" in your movie.

However in the case of this film, by the time you get to the end -- assuming you can -- the film-makers have made so many other mistakes that "too much message" is the least of their worries.

"The DUFF" is a mildly enjoyable film that doesn't quite hit the mark. I think it could have scored a bullseye but the movie had two big things working against it. First, while this is supposed to be high school, the actors are mostly adults--too old for high school. They also at times talk NOTHING like kids but like super-savvy adults. So, when the leading lady makes a marvelous speech near the end, when you think about it, NO teen is that smart, that self-aware and that intelligent!! Second, the film is definitely NOT something I'd encourage teens to see. Sure, teens think about sex and curse-- I am not naive. But seeing so much talk about sex acts and nasty language made me feel a bit squeamish when I thought about kids seeing the film. I am not a prude, mind you--just aware that the film's primary audience shouldn't be as sexually active as the film would seem to want them to be.

Overall, a decent film that is best appreciated by an older audience but a film that also COULD have been for all audiences without all the sexual references. Oh, and if you do watch, understand that the film is a lot like "Pygmalion" and the love story is amazingly easy to predict.

Wow! I did not see that ending coming at all!

Sarcasm!

While being entirely predictable, it was actually an entertaining movie.

The general theme of the movie reminds me of She's All That; cute jock boy and 'ugly' girl, girl gets transformation and they both ride off into the sunset together.

Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell were the highlights of the film, the two of them have great chemistry together and made the movie enjoyable to watch. Allison Janney is always good to see on the screen, even in a small role like in this film.

It was a bit hard to watch at some points; I mean is anyone as awkward as Bianca (Whitman) was in most of the film and some parts were just over the top, bordering on stupid.

There are a lot of social media and pop culture references in this, every social media website gets a mention at least once during the film.

Being as predictable and awkward to watch as it is, it was an entertaining and funny movie, and I think most of that credit has to go to Whitman and Amell.

It's probably something I would watch again, but not until it comes out on Netflix or something like that.

Charming, genial and slight high school comedy about a student who convinces herself she is the "Designated Ugly Fat Friend" (aka "The DUFF') to her prettier best friends. A winning cast helps alleviate the razor-thin, not entirely believable characterizations. Both Mae Whitman, as the DUFF Bianca, and Robbie Amell as her next-door frenemy Wesley, a seemingly insensitive jock with a barely concealed heart of gold who agrees to coach her to become more date-worthy, exude enough warmth, charm and physical grace to make us forget that the actors are old enough for graduate school. The rest of the cast does fine with the cardboard they are given to play, with Alison Janney standing out (as usual) as Whitman's recently divorced, self-absorbed mom, a newly minted self-help guru who spouts slogans in the guise of motherly advice until eventually realizing the shallowness of her mantras. The film's biggest problem is that it lacks the courage of its convictions in almost every aspect. It runs away almost immediately from the boldness of its title concept and all the ideas it could explore about the way girls (not to mention boys) are evaluated and judged, opting instead for a warmed over pseudo-Pygmalion story that it then tries to spin into a lesson about empowerment and self-acceptance. Wesley is never the coarse "man whore" Bianca and her friends make him out to be, which robs the character of the arc the film wants him to have and makes us wonder why Bianca is blind to the guy that is obviously right for her. Bianca's crush on another classmate who is obviously not right for her is too shallow a story line to have the emotional impact the film reaches for, though I did find the film's ultimate resolution (at Homecoming, natch!) much more emotionally satisfying and resonate. If anything, "The DUFF" is an illustration of the long shadow cast by John Hughes films, especially "The Breakfast Club," and how hard it is to do something fresh, bold or innovative with this kind of material. I give it props for trying and for not falling flat on its face, and for managing to let some good actors do some enjoyable work.

Belle Thorne fresh from the Disney teen comedy Shake It Up plays the bad girl in high school in The DUFF. As the prettiest most popular girl in the school she has been given the approval by the consensus of all to determine the roles and pecking order of her high school. Poor Mae Whitman is designated a DUFF which is Designated Ugly Fat Friend.

Whitman is sloppy but she is by no means ugly which is the main weakness of The DUFF. But naturally it isn't a role she relishes so being smart she gets jock Robbie Amell who is going out with Thorne to give her some pointers on popularity. The goal is to land sensitive musician Nick Eversman because she's crushing out on him big time.

This reworking of Pygmalion set in a contemporary American high school offers little in teen comedy we haven't seen before other than some fresh new faces. I guess all we really learn is if you're a designated DUFF make sure to change schools.

Greetings again from the darkness. I was never a teenage girl, and for that, I am quite thankful. By comparison, being a teenage guy was a breeze. No filmmaker was better than the great John Hughes at capturing the challenges of high school … especially for girls. The mysteries of adolescent social hierarchy has long been a favorite movie target, and director Ari Sandel (Oscar winner for his short film West Bank Story) and screenwriter Josh Cagan loosely base their film on the novel from Kody Keplinger.

Mae Whitman (from TV's "Parenthood") stars as Bianca, a very smart student who enjoys hanging with her two best friends Casey (Bianca Santos, Ouija) and Jess (Skyler Samuels). That all changes one evening at a party when Bianca's neighbor, and the school's alpha-jock Wesley (Robbie Amell, Firestorm in TV's "The Flash"), informs her that she is the titular "DUFF" … Designated Ugly Fat Friend. The term itself is quite offensive, but the movie does its best to soften the blow by explaining that it doesn't necessarily mean ugly or fat – a confusing turn, but fortunate since Ms. Whitman is neither.

As you might imagine, the familiar terrain of teen angst movies is covered and any hope of real insight is dashed pretty early on. However, it does spend a significant amount of time driving home the point that social media plays a dominant role in every aspect of teen life these days, including cyber-bullying. It's no wonder that insecurities abound … one never knows when their trip to the mall or make-out session with a mannequin will become a viral video.

There are familiar aspects of such classics as Pretty in Pink, She's All That, and Mean Girls. Robbie Amell even looks very much like Michael Schoeffling from Sixteen Candles. However, the film features two of my movie pet peeves. First, Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell are both in their mid-20's – entirely too old to be playing high school students. Secondly, Mr Amell plays a jock but clearly cannot throw a football like one – and he does it three cringe-inducing times.

Mae Whitman has excellent screen presence and comes across as a blend of Janeane Garofalo, Ellen Page, and Aubrey Plaza. That's pretty high praise, but she elevates a script that needs it, and holds her own with screen vets like Allison Janney (as her distracted mom) and Ken Jeong (as her slightly loopy journalism teacher).

The film is a commentary on today's high school life, but the predictability and obvious gags prevent it from ever going too deep or appealing to any audience other than "tweeners". Still, any film that smacks down the nasty people (here played by Bella Thorne) and advises to be true to one's self, can't be all bad.

Potential but no true chemistry between these two actors. One looks like he's in his late 20's hanging out with high school girls, and the other just tries too hard making almost every scene awkward and unrealistic. These relationships don't happen, and it's quite patronizing. What I did like was the positive message about accepting yourself as who you are.

The DUFF is yet another teen comedy that comes equipped with all of your usual teen comedy features. Even though this had a very predictable plot that you could figure out within 10 minutes this movie was surprisingly pretty enjoyable. I can't quite put my finger on it because this movie had some highs and quite a few lows, but the highs were actually pretty fun to watch. There weren't a whole lot of comedic bits in this film but there were a couple of sections that were a little funny, and not laugh out loud hilarious but more of a light hearted and fun kind of funny. And when these moments go away the movie slows down quite a bit and it is a roller- coaster for most of the movie. I really quite enjoyed seeing Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell together, they both gave some pretty good performances and their relationship is what made me stay interested in the film, even after it kinda switches going into the third act.

The third act of the film almost completely ditches whatever fun comedic tone it had and goes for a more emotion filled approach. Although i didn't mind the third act, the drastic flip in tone caught me off guard and took a little to adjust. So in the end there isn't a whole lot i can say about this film, it has a predictable plot and all the teen comedy clichés you know, but the performances and characters make it fun and somewhat entertaining so you can get something a little worthwhile out of it (if you enjoy teen comedies). If you hate teen comedies, no, this is not any different so you probably want to skip it. - 5.5

I like some aspects of the movie, but other parts could be improved. I like the sarcasm and the wit, but overall, it's just not "fantastic" enough to buy for my home library.