Being the DUFF

by Laina Vitarelli, entertainment editor

High school is often stereotyped to be a building full of cliche groups such as jocks, populars, nerds, etc. The movie DUFF created a whole new category in the high school social ladder; the Designated Ugly Fat Friend (DUFF), which came out on February 20th, 2015.

A DUFF isn’t necessarily ugly or fat, just someone who is the least attractive in a group of friends, making the other friends look better. The movie was an all around enjoyable film that brought something new to old cliche stories regarding high school.

This movie is centered around Bianca (played by Mae Whitman), and Wesley (played by Robbie Amell). Bianca is told that she is the DUFF of her friend group and asks Wesley, the football star, to help her lose that title in exchange for her help in chemistry.

Although the movie is considered to be a comedy, there were a few romantic scenes. The relationship between Bianca and Wesley often made the audience laugh, but there were moments in the film that got very serious and gave off the romantic vibe.

The movie also starred Bella Thorne as Madison, Bianca A. Santos as Casey, and Skyler Samuels as Jess. Even though Madison, Casey, and Jess are secondary characters to Bianca and Wesley they are still strong influences in the film.

Madison is the Queen Bee of their high school, also Wesley’s ex-girlfriend, and she makes it her goal to embarrass Bianca every time opportunity strikes. Then the two people Bianca trusts the most are her best friends Casey and Jess, but the idea of the DUFF puts a strain on their friendship.

“Seeing a movie that jokes around about being different is always something I love watching. The romance involved was extremely cute and funny giving it a realistic vibe on how high school relationships actually work,” senior Michelle Psaltakis said.

Forbidden love was a theme carried throughout the film between Bianca and Wesley because they come from different social cliques. The development of the two main characters, Bianca and Wesley, was a bumpy road that had viewers laughing, gasping, and occasionally crying. Both of them had a lot of maturing to do, which they did together.

Each character brought different traits to the movie such as intelligence, athletics, charm, and even ignorance. This made the combination of people an interesting yet pleasing one. The way that they all seemed to mesh together in a giant high school drama bubble is what made the movie such an entertaining watch.

DUFF is a movie that all viewers can enjoy, from teenage girls and boys to middle aged adults, rating 7/10.