The DUFF (2015), PG-13, ★★★

Robbie Amell and Mae Whitman discuss what the DUFF is.

Look, I have to be honest and say that labeling students is dumbfounded and somewhat stereotypical because a label either boost morale or drag their self-esteem and reputation down as a human being. Labeling people is wrong and you have to be able to see people when you're talking to them and getting along with them. It is up to the person to see if the other has a great personality. You cannot label people from the get-go. This movie constitutes people regarding their reputation in a small society of high school students but it also centrals a character that is interesting to follow and with clever writing and that is enough for me.

High school senior Bianca Piper (Mae Whitman) explains to the audience that in the past that there were students stuck with labels such as jocks, princesses, nerds, etc. But now in recent years, they have been branched out such as jocks playing video games, princesses being on anti-depressants and nerds being in charge. Bianca has two best friends - Jess (Styler Samuels), a girl who wants to be a fashion designer and Casey (Bianca A. Santos), a resilient hacker girl. Guys drool over Casey and Jess but not Bianca.

The school's queen bee, Madison (Bella Thorne) invites Jess and Casey to a party but does not deliberately invite Bianca but Casey makes it a free invitation. We also meet Bianca's neighbor and Madison's on/off boyfriend, Wes (Robbie Amell). Bianca also has a crush on Toby (Nick Eversman), but she is scared to say two words to him. At the party, Wes meets with Bianca and asks whether or not Jess and Casey has said anything about him or interested in him and Bianca does not divulge information regarding her friends.

Wes argues with Bianca that she is their DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) and that the person is there to make their friends better in comparison. They are approachable enough for someone to ask them about their hot friends. Bianca gets mad and goes home feeling insecure. Bianca meets with Wes again as she observes that he is failing chemistry and she sees this as an opportunity, so she makes a deal with Wes that she will tutor him if he agrees to turn her image around so she will not be a DUFF anymore.

Uh oh! What video is Thorne showing Whitman?

It is not an entirely original film in the teenage genre as we seem some formula regarding the four characters: the central character, the male best friend, the beauty queen and the male crush. I have some better movies regarding that formula which one I strongly recommend is Sixteen Candles. It almost plays like a combination of John Hughes' teen classic and Mean Girls. However, there has some fresh take on the idealistic teenage persona. There are points regarding body image, self-love and relationships between boy and girl and girl and girl. It is a conventional but satisfying outlook of where society in high school is at today.

Mae Whitman gives an assured and confident performance and could potentially be a star-making performance. She irresistibly shines by providing the right comic balance and quirky personality that anchors the film well enough to pay attention and go on the journey with her. Robbie Amell has good chemistry with Whitman, Bella Thorne does not go over-the-top as the devilishly attractive fool who teases Whitman's character and Ken Jeong and Alison Janney provide subtle humor in their small roles.

It is not Easy A or Clueless but it is a solid B. Despite the ending being a little preachy and predictable, the movie, overall, never bored me mostly because of Whitman's performance and the material is rich enough. There are a few scenes where a scene is great and then in the end of that scene, there has to be an element that has to progress the film but in a negative fashion towards Bianca. But, the movie is charming and interesting enough that teenage girls will dig it. The only question: how long will the movie take to become memorable?

***