Now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD is the high school comedy The DUFF.
The DUFF stars some of today’s hottest young stars – Mae Whitman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Robbie Amell (TV’s “The Flash”), Bella Thorne (Blended), Bianca Santos (Ouija), Skyler Samuels (upcoming TV’s “Scream Queens”) Romany Malco (Showtime’s “Weeds”), Nick Eversman (Wild). The movie also stars veteran actors Ken Jeong (TV’s “Community”) and Allison Janney (TV’s “Mom”).
The DUFF is the story of a high school senior, Bianca, and how her life gets turned upside down.
Bianca has two best friends – Jess and Casey. Jess and Casey are very popular in school. All the boys think they are “hot” and would do anything to be with either of them. When it comes to Bianca she’s next to invisible compared to her two best friends.
Bianca has a crush on a boy name Toby. She cannot even utter one word to him.
The most popular girl at school, Madison, invites Jess and Casey to her party. She tells Bianca that she ran out of invitations and she cannot attend without one. Casey remedies this by ripping her invitation in half and giving the other half to Bianca.
At Madison’s party Bianca meets up with her childhood friend and next door neighbor Wesley. Wesley is the captain of the football team, “Mr. Popular” and dating Madison (they constantly break up and get back together again).
During a conversation with Wesley, Bianca is told that she is the “DUFF” of her group. DUFF stands for “Designated Ugly Fat Friend.”
According to Wesley;
The DUFF need not actually be ugly or fat, he explains, it’s just the person in a social group who is less popular and more accessible than the others in the group. People exploit the DUFF to get to the popular people.
Bianca is devastated by this news and assumed that Jess and Casey used her as their DUFF. She ends up unfriending them both in person and on social media.
Bianca also learns that Wesley is failing his science class and if he doesn’t pass he can’t play football. That is when Bianca comes up with an idea – she’ll help Wesley pass his class if he can help turn her from a DUFF into a popular girl at school so that she can win the heart of Toby. Wesley agrees to take on the challenge of turning a DUFF into a popular girl.
Will Bianca succeed in getting Toby to like her? Will she end up being a popular girl – even more popular than Madison? And what about Jess and Casey? Is her friendship with them over for good? To find out you need to pick up a copy of The DUFF, available where most movies are sold.
The film also has bonus features.
- “The DUFF Hits The Red Carpet” featurette
- “Bringing the Book to Life” featurette
- “Teen Comedies and The DUFF” featurette
- “I Am the DUFF” featurette
- The DUFF Files
- Extended Gag Reel
I watched the bonus features. They are worth checking out although I was a bit disappointed in the Gag Reel. I didn’t really find it funny.
I was the DUFF in high school, so I can totally relate to this film to some degree. My best friends were pretty, smart, athletic and some what popular. Not me. I was the fat one. I was the DUFF.
Case in point… in 7th grade I had a huge crush on a boy. We were very good friends. I was grateful for our friendship but I couldn’t help but crush on him. I wanted so much more than to be just his friend.
I was devastated when I found out that he had a crush on my best friend – and she liked him too.
I ended up being the “go- between.” He would ask me stuff to find out about my best friend, and vice versa. He even ended up sitting next to her in class – which was next to me too. I hated seeing him make “googly eyes” at her when I was hoping and wishing it was ME. Sigh…
I’m still very good friends with my best friend. The boy… he sort of disappeared after high school.
I think many people can relate to this film, especially if YOU were the DUFF of your friends (male or female).
The film can be a bit cliche and time and predictable. Aside from that I think it’s a fun movie.
The film is rated PG13.
I think Mae Whitman was the perfect casting choice for this film. It’s like the role was specifically created for her. She was great in this role and I hope to see a lot more of her in the future.
Robbie Amell is certainly nice “eye candy,” but he did pull of his role exceptionally well too.
I liked this film. I don’t think it’s necessarily geared towards high schoolers.
Look for The DUFF where ever movies are sold.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
G K says
This sounds like a relatable movie for many including myself. Mae seems like a funny actress, so I can’t wait to see this.
Erika C. says
Great review, I’m thinking my daughter and I would enjoy watching this movie together. PS: You look so pretty in your high school picture! Thanks for sharing with your readers!
Robin W says
I am so out of the loop that I am not familiar with anyone in the movie. But not so far out that I don’t understand about being a “DUFF”. I think it sounds like a very watchable movie, just might not get any academy awards. And btw…your picture is beautiful as are you.
Janet W. says
I bet I would enjoy this movie. I liked Mae Whitman in Parenthood. She’s a great actress.
Yona Williams says
I saw the trailer for this movie, and it’s something that I want to see. I like movies like this – they are entertaining, and have ups and downs throughout that usually have a nice, feel-good ending.
DeniseJ says
I still haven’t seen this movie. I really want to watch it with my niece.
Terra Heck says
I wasn’t necessarily the DUFF in school, but I wasn’t popular either. This movie sounds entertaining. I’ll have to watch it soon.