High school movies are an American institution. No other country is as infatuated with high school as we are. Ever since 1973’s “American Graffiti,” there’s always been a gaggle of unknown actors in them who quickly segue to stardom: “Graffiti“ begat Harrison Ford and Richard Dreyfus, ”Dazed and Confused“ begat Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Renee Zellweger, and Parker Posey, and Alicia Silverstone’s star came from ”Clueless.”
The DUFF
“The DUFF” is not a brilliant movie rental choice for a grown man. It’s a makeover movie for tween girls. But first things first: What’s a DUFF? It’s a heretofore under-the-radar, American high school social category which, due to our ingenious social dynamics awareness, humor, and slang-appreciation, has now been isolated, diagnosed, labeled, and filed.The Functionality of the DUFF
The plump, plain DUFFs are the gatekeepers to their thin, attractive friends. We’re shown various kinds of DUFFs, most notably the “Political Duff”: overweight governor Chris Christie standing next to thin Barack Obama. It’s an excellent visual gag if not an actually valid “exhibit A.”
Of course Brittany Murphy was a camouflaged cutie in her own right, and Bianca Piper (Mae Whitman) in “The DUFF” isn’t exactly chopped liver herself, once she cleans up. Which is why this is a makeover movie.
Bianca’s their DUFF. She’s unaware of such a designation. She’s enlightened to the definition of this social category by her neighbor and childhood friend Wesley Rush (Robbie Amell). Wesley’s captain of the football team and boyfriend of the school’s reigning mean girl, Madison (Bella Thorne).
High school’s always been hell for the uncool and clique-disenfranchised, but high school in 2015 was a nightmare. As the principal says, “Cyberbullying—it’s like a prison yard out there!” We all know by now (certain NFL quarterbacks, certain current defamation court cases) the nightmare of the viral selfie or video.
Any Good?
Much like “American Pie,” “The DUFF” is basically a decent teen comedy, but instead of an R, it’s rated PG-13, meaning it had to tone down the dirty stuff but not be so goody-goody as to alienate the brazen-beyond-their-years preteen youth of today.
Mae Whitman’s kind of a cross between Janeane Garofalo and Linda Cardellini of NBC’s “Freaks and Geeks,” (the now-classic high school series that gave us Seth Rogen, James Franco, and Jason Segel).
Ken Jeong as a high school journalism teacher could have been otherwise cast. All his scenes are all about him, and ever so slightly and unintentionally creepy in annoying ways, and not because that’s what is in the script.
It’s always good to see how high school gets technologically updated. The 2015 phone-and-social-media insanity portrayed in “The DUFF” naturally makes the beepers of 1995’s “Clueless” look like trilobite fossils. Hashtags are everywhere.
“The DUFF” is cute fluff, but it does function as a cinematic guide to high school for the socially adrift. High school is very much like the prison yard; it pays to know the unwritten laws and find refuge in your peer group. The movie does a good job of portraying the pockets of severe isolation and depression that exist like landmines throughout high school, for DUFF, jock-concubine, mathlete, and band-camp/debate/chess-team nerds alike.
It’s not a high school movie on par with “Clueless,” but the message is ultimately quite positive. Bianca is eventually able to own her outsider status and grasp that it’s because she’s intellectually far superior to her peers. Which then allows her to face down the mean-girl faction with understanding and, believe it or not, compassion. Maybe it should be a freshman prerequisite.
