Review of The DUFF (2015) by Troy K — 06 Jul 2015

At the risk of sounding somewhat presumptive when it comes to what pre-teen and teenage adolescents find endearing these days, The DUFF seems to be one of those films that will garner a certain amount of affection over the years as it is more regularly and consistently viewed.

After only a single viewing it is clear there is a certain amount of charm here that's both unexpected and absent from films of this genre and of this nature that don't really care about the emotions and circumstances of its characters.

That isn't to say this isn't somewhat recycled and rebranded for the current generation as the film could cynically be boiled down to She's All That with the internet, but whether you like it or not the quick wit of the script (which comes from source material by Kody Keplinger) and the endearing performances of Mae Whitman (Arrested Development) and Robbie Amell (The Flash) make this more than tolerable and a fair amount of fun if not being overly obvious in its message in order to make sure its target audience understands.

All of that said, what I'm not saying is that this will necessarily turn out to be this generation's Mean Girls (it's not THAT quick-witted) and it's certainly not on par with Easy A (the slyness and irreverence of that humor is untouchable), but it combines plenty of bits that made those high school comedies great in order to deliver a comedy that is more than competent, wholly appealing and no doubt perfectly delightful when taken in through the context and circumstances it was intended.