Review of The DUFF (2015) by Glenn G — 17 Mar 2015

THE F.L.U.F.F. (Funny but a Little Underwhelming Feature Film) - My Review of THE DUFF (3 Stars).

Take a fun but nasty high school concept based on a bestselling novel, add a cavalcade of fresh talent, and an Academy Award-winning Director, and you should have the next classic teen movie, right? Well, kinda sorta almost. Standing for Designated Ugly Fat Friend, THE DUFF stars Mae Whitman (PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER) as Bianca, who learns from her hot jock next door neighbor Wesley (Robbie Amell) that her prettier, more popular friends keep her around in order to look that much better. Upon discovering this, she enlists her neighbor to give her romance lessons in exchange for help with his science grades. Whereas 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU was based on THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, and CLUELESS was based on EMMA, THE DUFF takes its cues from PYGMALION. There's no way this film won't take its place in the HEATHERS/MEAN GIRLS pantheon, right?

All of the ingredients are here for that to be true. Utilizing fun social media graphics and a delightfully uncomfortable performance by Whitman along with spirited turns by Amell, Allison Janney (as Bianca's mother), and Ken Jeong as her Journalism professor, director Ari Sandel, who won an Oscar in 2005 for his short, WEST BANK STORY, mostly keeps things grounded in reality. I felt every single moment of Bianca's humiliation and embarrassment, and the film's insistence on keeping everything genuine is what keeps it from launching into the stratosphere. The aforementioned classics often had thrilling flights of fancy, whether it's that bus hitting Regina George or Winona Ryder's head becoming a croquet ball. THE DUFF, however, is content to tell its story with very little fanfare. Perhaps I've become used to gross-out humor, but part of me wanted one big set piece or two to take this film to the next level. I can't imagine BRIDESMAIDS without the famous bathroom scene, and THE DUFF only manages a literal half-second, blink and you'll miss it vomit moment.

Sandel and screenwriter Josh Cagan have done solid work here and there's wonderful, unexpected chemistry between Whitman and Amell, but punches seem to have been pulled. Bella Thorne plays the resident bad girl, Madison, with a perfect, understated bristle, and yet it doesn't feel like enough. I was waiting for an epic meltdown or indelible lines like "F*ck me gently with a chainsaw", but the best we get from her are unmemorable, passive-aggressive asides. It's MEAN GIRLS-lite or NOT-SO-NICE GIRLS, and THE DUFF's predecessors have raised the bar to almost unattainable heights.

Almost completely eschewing camp, the filmmakers have made an understandable yet somewhat bland choice. We know where this movie is going from the moment it starts, and despite it being fun and well-observed, it's lacking those big moments such as a lively dance in the Homecoming scene, or some crazy naked hijinks in the men's locker room scene. Still, the movie is about something humane, that sometimes being yourself is the best option. That's not the worst message to put out there, but "I love my dead gay son" is unforgettable and I'll be quoting HEATHERS for decades. THE DUFF made me laugh when Allison Janney quoted THIS IS SPINAL TAP, but that's only worth a passing mention at my next cocktail party. The differences, and one can't help but compare, make ALL the difference.