The DUFF

              I’m really starting to think I have a problem with movie and TV trailers.  All too often I watch a trailer and come away either completely turned off or with zero interest in what I have just seen.  Then someone else wants to see what I have made my mind up about, or I come across it by accident, and I find I really like what I rejected when I saw the trailer.  This is exactly what happened with the movie The DUFF.  All the commercials I saw made it seem as though The DUFF was going to be a cruel, depressing film.  Then when I watched it, I found that this movie was clever, funny, and empowering for those who dare to be different.

                Bianca Piper (Mae Whitman) is going through high school just fine hanging out with her two best friends, Jess (Skyler Samuels) and Casey (Bianca Santos).  Yes, her friends get a lot of attention, but as Bianca is with them all the time, it feels as though the group is getting the attention, not just the two of them.  Then Bianca’s next-door neighbor Wesley Rush (Robbie Amell) ruins everything.  He tells Bianca she is Jess and Casey’s DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend), and not up to the caliber of person that Jess and Casey are.

                Offended, Bianca at first completely rejects what Wesley has told her.  Then she starts to think about what really goes on when she is around her friends.  People will say hello to Jess and Casey and not her.  In fact, a lot of the time the greeter won’t even know her name.  This includes teachers.  Then there are the boys who go up to her seeking information about her friends.  They never ask about her.  All they want is to know about Jess and Casey.  Now Bianca sees what Wesley means about her being the Designated Ugly Fat Friend.

                Furious about her new-found understanding of the relationship she has with her friends, Bianca breaks off all contact with them, including the following of their social media accounts.  Determined to change her social status, Bianca turns to Wesley to teach her how to no longer be the DUFF and instead get people interested in her, not just as a path to her two former friends.  In exchange, Bianca will help Wesley pass Chemistry so he can play football.

                While Wesley is not sure about this arrangement at first, he does agree to it.  The first thing they do is go to the mall to buy Bianca some new clothes.  While there, Bianca starts to have fun, not knowing the best friend of Wesley’s ex-girlfriend, Madison (Bella Thorne), is filming the entire thing.  For revenge for Bianca hanging out with Wesley, Madison edits the embarrassing video and releases it to the world.  It gets passed around school, revealing who Bianca’s crush is, and turning Bianca into a laughingstock.  To make matters worse, fed up with cyber bullying, the principal makes everyone turn in their electronic devices after the release of the video.  Thinking Bianca was the one who reported the video, the students turn on Bianca, blaming her for their losing their devices.

                Despite how bad the situation is, Wesley does what he can to help Bianca turn it into something positive.  He tells Bianca to just walk up to her crush, Toby Tucker (Nick Eversman), and tell him how she feels.  The information is out anyways, so she might as well take control of the situation and admit it.  Inspired by Wesley, Bianca does exactly that.  The result: Bianca gets a date with Toby Tucker.

                Unfortunately, the date does not go exactly as planned.  While Bianca thinks this was a one-on-one date arranged because Toby is interested in her, what is really going on is Toby is using her.  As so many guys have done before him, Toby wanted to get together with Bianca because he thought it would give him the opportunity to know Jess and Casey better.  Distraught at the truth behind Toby’s actions, Bianca calls Wesley to tell him what happened and goes to her special place in the woods to think.  What she finds is Wesley and Madison kissing on her favorite spot, explaining why Bianca was only able to reach Wesley’s voicemail.  Even more upset now, Bianca returns home.  Wesley has tainted her favorite spot and broken her trust, which is only made worse by the fact that Bianca has suddenly realized she has feelings for Wesley.  Feeling even more alone than she did before, when Wesley comes to Bianca’s house after hearing her message, she tells Wesley that they were never friends and that she wants him to leave.

                With Wesley gone, and no other friends to talk to, Bianca hangs out in her room alone until she decides it is time to tell Jess and Casey everything.  She explains how the whole rift between them started and why she has been acting the way she has.  Now understanding why Bianca did what she did; Jess, Casey, and Bianca repair their friendship.  As great as this is, this does not fully resolve everything, because there is still Wesley and Madison (who is determined to ruin Bianca’s life) left to deal with.

                There are so many clever lines throughout this film.  Bianca is a little dark and sarcastic, and while Wesley at first comes off as a jerk, he’s actually a really sweet and caring guy.  Both personalities create some great lines and scenes, with my favorite scene being Bianca in the boys’ locker room.  With Bianca needing Wesley’s advice, she just charges into the locker room looking for him.  This doesn’t embarrass Wesley, but it does all the other boys who have been laughing at her over the video.  Seeing them embarrassed and not quite put together, definitely lets Bianca get her revenge.

                While the humor is the fun part of this movie, what’s really great is how Bianca comes to understand that she likes herself just the way she is.  Bianca also realizes that everyone is a DUFF to someone else.  There will always be someone better than you in some way or at something, and there’s not any reason to fret about it.  You are best just the way you are.