The DUFF (2015)
- The incredible score for The DUFF was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
- Ari Sandel originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
The DUFF is a 2015 American teen comedy directed by Ari Sandel, based on Kody Keplinger's 2010 novel. Mae Whitman stars as Bianca Piper, a smart, sardonic high school senior who discovers she has been designated the "Designated Ugly Fat Friend" of her social group — the less attractive friend that people befriend to get access to her hotter companions. Furious and humiliated, Bianca enlists her neighbor Wesley, played by Robbie Amell, a popular jock, to help her shed the DUFF label through a makeover montage that becomes something more genuine.
The DUFF updated the teen comedy formula for the social media era, with cyberbullying, viral videos, and online humiliation replacing the hallway gossip of earlier teen films. Mae Whitman's Bianca was self-aware, funny, and more realistically proportioned than the typical teen comedy heroine. The DUFF earned $43 million worldwide on a $8.5 million budget.
