Apparently, in every group of friends, there is that one designated ugly fat friend that makes everyone else look good. According to the movie The Duff, if you do not know who the duff is amongst your group of friends, chances are, it is you.

The Duff to put it simply, was a rip off of movies seen over and over again. They have Bella Thorne as the mean girl who is, basically, Regina George in Mean Girls. Robbie Amell plays the jerk jock turned Prince Charmin. Mae Whitmen, the duff of the movie, is the victim, the Cinderella, the Cady Heron from Mean Girls. Unfortunately for this movie, unlike Mean Girls though, The Duff is nothing close to legendary.

In a conference call made between student journalist and the actors mentioned, Bella Thorne, Robbie Amell, and Mae Whitmen, Bella Throne was quoted saying, “I watched Jennifer’s Body. I felt like the lingo in Jennifer’s Body is exactly how it is in the film” when asked how she prepared for her role. Thorne openly admitted that the movie in which she is starring in is not too original. She also said that while playing her mean girl character, “The hardest part was having to be mean to Mae.” This comment is a reflection of her acting skills. Apparently, it is hard for her to differentiate between the real and the acting. It is a movie and everyone knows it. She wasn’t being mean to Whitmen, but the character Whitmen plays. The struggle to be mean was showcased in the lacking of her acting.

On the other hand, every single second was not all bad. There were moments that brought on chuckling and light laughter. Ken Jeong appeared for the occasional comic relief. It was entertaining enough to grab people’s attention. The disappointment came in when the viewer found him or herself predicting the next scenes and getting them right every single time.

The movie was just too predictable. It was unrealistically modern. While the idea of a DUFF is new, no one thinks about having a duff in their friendship. Friendships are friendships for a reason. The movie wasn’t really sending a great message. Mae Whitman came to the realization that she was the duff out of her group of friends and dumped them, sending the message that there must be competition in every group of friends.

In all reality, after leaving the theatre, the thought of who’s the duff in people’s real life group of friends popped up. Thoughts such as that can bring problems. Instead of continuing to strengthen the bonds, girls and guys will be focused on being the better looking, acting, friend of the group. Disclaimer: Sure, at the end, Whitmen’s character reunited with her friends and the message was that she accepted herself as is, she was still the duff of her friends in the eyes of the viewer at that point. Which, by the way, was a prime example of a predictable scene.

Also, for it to  be a PG-13 movie, there was a lot of almost R rated moments in the movie that were a bit awkward. Most likely because it was unexpected. It felt like a Disney movie that wants to also be played on Adult Swim. Anyone planning on going to see The Duff when it comes out on February 20th, be sure to take a second to think about if you want to bring your parents. If you do, be prepared for a little awkwardness. You are welcome.