By Leilani Neal
Feature Film Columnist
Amazing how a simple word can change how teens see themselves. And kicking off the teen season of 2015, The Duff. Not only was this film really cute, but in its own way, it was very predictable. Even though 99% of the audience didn’t read the book or haven’t read it since they were in middle school, they all knew how it was going to end. The actors in the film were nice together, though their acting abilities and performances were slightly on the weak side, they were still able to make the audience laugh and, “Aw” at the screen. Actor and actress, Robbie Amell and Mae Whitman, worked great together on-screen and did a great job in the film for their characters.
Robbie Amell, after the cancellation of his CW television show The Tomorrow People, he has showed his face again on the big screen with the teen chick-flick. Robbie plays the role of the sexy jock named Wesley, who the best friend the protagonist, Bianca (The Duff), he’s her next door neighbor who just so also happens to be a lothario. Mae Whitman, lead female of Bianca, plays the Duff, the amazing female who goes through the five stage of accepting the fact that she is the Designated Ugly Fat Friend. The next familiar face goes to Bella Thorne, hit Disney star from the forgotten show Shake It Up, (well not completely forgotten) plays the role in the film of the evil stuck-up school girl who ruins lives as her morning breakfast. Thorne portrays this villain, Madison, who is Wesley’s on-again off-again girlfriend, who also likes to go out of her way to ruin Bianca’s life. Throne’s performance in this film, “shows that Disney has not done her justice,” her ability to simply act as the villain was so poor and at such low quality that the thought of what a villain was didn’t even apply to her character. “She just looked so bored… Is that what being a villain is?” According to Bella Thorne and her non-existent acting coach, I assume it does. If Bella Thorne wasn’t in this film it would be so much better, “every time I saw her on the screen I just continued to look away or just shoved popcorn in my face… because she was so boring and… I just wasn’t entertained whenever she was on the screen.” And that wasn’t a lie. Even Throne’s kissing screens were fake and poorly performed.
But the other actors, being as great as they were, redeemed her horrible performance and continued on with the cute film. Making audience members laugh and “Aw” and it can be said all around the Nation. With a $8.5 million budget the film made back $19.8 million in its first weekend in Box office. For a chick flick with a really bad actress, that isn’t too bad. Even though the acting in the film was strong and weak with most, the film still seem to do the novel more justice than it not. Maybe it was the visual effects that made the movie even funnier or the accuracy of the how immature teens can be (whether they are being bullies or drawing inappropriate pictures on chalk boards).
This film is family friendly… enough…. and is great to watch with your friends on a night out. This movie is rated PG-13 due to profanity and inappropriate behavior of some characters. This film is promised to not only make you laugh, but when you leave your seat, you will be asking yourself if you are the duff.