“The Duff” is a pretty okay movie that’s mainly just a film to showcase how utterly talented Mae Whitman is. Whitman has been a third and fourth banana for years, and it’s a shame she doesn’t take command of more movies that display how she can keep attention on her. Even in a movie where she’s the Designated Ugly Fat Friend, she shines more than any of the other girls. Which is tough considering Bella Thorne is quite attractive.Whitman is Bianca Piper, a horror geek with a penchant for hanging around some of the finest girls in her high school. While talking to ex friend Wes during a party, she’s informed by him that she’s a DUFF. Much to the chagrin of the status quo in her high school, Bianca decides to re-invent herself and pursue the man of her dreams.
Only if Wes can help her and regain his momentum in school to garner a scholarship to college. The movie attempts to invent the term the DUFF based on the more approachable less attractive girls of he pact that are often found in corners and social circles. “The DUFF” sits right on the edge of being a wonderful statement about online bullying and being true to thine ownself, but it gets bogged down in uneven tones and uninteresting characters. I wish we would have delved more in to Wes’s troubled home life and why he wants the scholarship for college so badly. The character of Madison is also poorly drawn out which makes the performances by Thorne feel like a missed opportunity. Plus, we’re never sure if Bianca’s friends viewed her as the DUFF and realized they loved her after she pointed it out or not.
The romance is also conventional beneath the moments of hilarity, which sucks considering Whitman and co-star Robbie Amell have great chemistry as the will they, won’t they couple. Regardless, “The DUFF” almost feels like its garnering shades of “Easy A” except its much better. Surely, it’s self aware, (how can it not be with a title like “The DUFF”?) but it’s also an attempted anthem for the DUFFS or for people that consider themselves DUFF’s. It’s a perfectly enjoyable dramedy thanks to the spirited performances, especially by Whitman who is gorgeous both as the DUFF and the reinvented ugly duckling.