The Duff is a movie directed towards teenagers in high school. As in most movies of this setting, there are cliques and ‘popular’ kids, as well as every other kind of student you would find in a high school. The main character, Bianca Piper, has some… interesting hobbies and interests. She doesn’t really fit in with anyone except her two best friends, Jess and Casey, who are considered more popular and prettier than her. There is also a boy, (what a shocker), named Wesley. He is the sexy football player that all the girls fantasize about. At the beginning of the movie, he and Bianca are just neighbors, and she appears to actually dislike him because he is always with a different girl. But as the movie progresses, they develop feelings for each other.

It doesn’t sound much different than any other high school based movie, but it is. The movie has morals and scenes that actually speak to you. Yes, it has some inappropriate humor and bad language, but it still manages to portray a message.

Wesley and Bianca have been neighbors since childhood, so they occasionally talk to each other. At one point towards the beginning of the movie, Bianca and Wesley have a conversation and Wesley calls Bianca a DUFF. After explaining to her what it means, Designated Ugly Fat Friend, she gets mad and dumps her drink on him. But as soon as she gets home, she thinks it may be true, and has an emotional break down.

She eventually returns to Wesley for advice on how to change herself. The majority of the remainder of the movie revolves around Bianca trying to change her appearance and attitude, so she won’t be considered the DUFF anymore. Through her adventures of attempted self-alteration, she starts to realize that there is no changing who she is, and that she should be proud of herself just the way she is. She starts to stand up for herself in sticky situations, and she and Wesley start to develop feelings for each other during all the time they spend with each other.

This movie no doubt includes the stereotypical aspects of a film based in high school, but it is different in so many ways. Morals included.