Mae Whitman is a very talented, highly underrated actor. She has a habit of playing secondary characters in beloved shows and films; she plays an ex in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (one of my favorite films of the decade), another ex in Perks of a Wallflower (another favorite of the decade) and most prominently, is the voice actor of Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender (one of the greatest TV shows ever created). The latter is notable as my first introduction to Whitman (though at the time was unaware of the person voice acting), providing some of the finest, emotionally invested audio for my favorite character on the show. Whitman has voiced several other characters including April O’Neal on the latest TV reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (a decent show on its own) and Tinker Bell for the Disney Fairies franchise. No matter how small a role, her characters distinctively stand out amongst the cast with a sense of vividness and emotional connection. Yet with the exception of Tinker Bell, Whitman has never played a main character; so imagine my utter excitement to learn of her casting as the main character in Ari Sandel’s The Duff…and then I saw the film, and got incredibly sad.
The plot follows high school student Bianca (Mae Whitman), an oddball who’s friends with two popular girls Jess and Casey (played respectively by Skyler Samuels and Bianca Santos). While her friends are social butterflies, Bianca’s “off-putting” personality makes her blend in with the shadows. Her neighbor, former childhood friend, and popular jock Wes (Robbie Amell) lets slip her position as the DUFF of the trio, aka the designated ugly fat friend. Bianca is offended by the term, yet comes to fear it true, angrily breaking ties with Jess and Casey in thinking they’re using her. Learning of Wes’ failing grades (which prevents him from gaining a sports scholarship), Bianca makes a deal to help him pass in exchange for services in transforming her social position; unfortunately, Wes’ on-again, off-again girlfriend Madison (Bella Throne) has other plans for Bianca’s social status.
Ok, here’s the fatal flaw of The Duff, which breaks the film before it even begins. Mae Whitman is neither fat nor ugly, she’s beautiful. Then there’s her character Bianca, who is any high school student’s dream; she’s laid back, very witty (with a bit of sass and dead-pan humor), intelligent yet modest, loves horror films (along with the horror genre itself) and has a healthy appetite for the physical side of romance. Bianca’s incredibly adorkable nature provides the majority of The Duff’s comedy; in the library she loudly insults her ex-friends, only to immediately regret and apologize to the librarian, “Whores!...I’m so sorry Susan, I’ll see you tomorrow.” In another scene Bianca is given the task of asking random guys out, with the results being a hilarious mix of sweet, socially awkward, and dorky. Any teen with two brain cells would want Bianca, yet according to The Duff this isn’t the case. Bianca’s practically invisible to the school, with none of the students ever making a move unless to get connected with her more “attractive” friends. Indeed there’ll always be high school students too conceited, conformed or plain stupid to see what they’re missing, but don’t go suggesting not a single student (with the exception of our designated final guy) is interested in dating her!
I can’t buy such nonsense; the entire moral of her accepting being a DUFF doesn't work when it seems outright unrealistic. In an age where being a nerd or hipster is considered cool, Bianca may not be the most popular student, but she’d certainly have similar cliques to relate (and date) with. Heck the film’s own opening points out how high school popularity’s changed, yet seems to instantly forget its own acknowledgment, acting like a set in the mid-nineties. What’s worse is how depressing her situation gets. Bianca’s constantly made fun of for being a DUFF, called ugly and fat on multiple occasions, and psychologically bullied by Madison and her lackeys. Her friends and love interests don’t help matters either, playing little in comforting until the very clichéd finale (which I’ll get to later). Bianca likewise seems to believe she’s repulsive, stating entirely straight-faced how she knows she’s ugly. Regardless of her appearance, Bianca slow and painful break down is quite difficult to watch. The Duff is considered a teen comedy yet the drama gets too disheartening for its own good, to the point where I wanted to yell at Bianca how awesome she is (I didn't because that would be crazy…unless it was a midnight screening).
In terms of cast Whitman steals the show, though in all fairness there’s hardly any competition. The rest of the crew range from decently entertaining to bland stereotypes. Bianca’s mom (played by Allison Janney) gets a few good laughs here and there, as well as the usually funny Ken Jeong, playing one of school teachers. Robbie Amell is…decent in his role, though nothing exceptional to distinguish him from other “jock with a heart of gold” roles; Bella Thorne (who I swear looks like a younger Jessica Chastain) plays the all too overused rich mean girl, essentially the same role she played in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day only somehow more despicable. I can’t really blame Thorne since she’s playing her role as appropriately cast, I can however blame the director for having such a one-dimensional, plastic bully.