MovieChat Forums > The Duff (2015) Discussion > A few things in this film that bug me......

A few things in this film that bug me... (Spoilers)


1. I don't even want to exist in a world where Mae Whitman is considered a "fat, ugly friend". I know Wes specifies that the term means being the ugliest in your group rather than literally fat or ugly, but on the video's of her humping the dummy there are comments about her weight and they impose a pig mask on her face. She's a bit ungroomed, unstyled and scruffy in the film, but she's still a very attractive girl. They should have chosen someone much plainer for the part.

2. Speaking of her style - the whole film leads up to the typical "I'm happy being myself" theme, but then by the end of the film her dress sense is much more feminine. I guess you can say this is because she's developed as a character, but it kind of reinforces the idea that a girl in a flannel shirt and denim jeans can't still get the guy without making a physical change.

3. Wes is super unrealistic as a character. He wouldn't have gone that far out of his way to help her, especially if being seen hanging out with her embarrassed him. There's some super awkward moments where she barges into the mens room and he's completely fine with it, he takes her into a spare room to strategise her "date". What's he really getting out of all this? A better science grade? Is there nobody else in the school willing to tutor a really hot/popular guy without him getting into some binding contract?

4. The date with Toby. Why did he assume she was saying her friends were into him when she clearly said "I like you". Did the video not make it kind of obvious? And as for thinking her friends were going over to his house - their names were never even mentioned when he asked her round.
And something that really bugs me is that he keeps saying "Jess and Casey" - which one does he actually fancy? Is he just kind of taking a stab at either of them? They look nothing alike so that must make his taste super varied. Her friends are referred to as "Jess and Casey" throughout though, like they're just one entity, despite having no other simiarities than being "hot".

5. Bianca essentialls falls out with her friendsbecause they're prettier than her, and they don't even question it or stop her, they're just like "ok I've deleted your Twitter". Then they're done until they're needed again at the end of the film.

6. There's very little development of the romance between Wes and Bianca. One minute they're a bit disgusted by each other, then she's suddenly kissing him on a rock, then they're mutually jealous and by the end they're this super serious couple and living happily ever after. Yeah - that happens.

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1. I don't even want to exist in a world where Mae Whitman is considered a "fat, ugly friend". I know Wes specifies that the term means being the ugliest in your group rather than literally fat or ugly, but on the video's of her humping the dummy there are comments about her weight and they impose a pig mask on her face. She's a bit ungroomed, unstyled and scruffy in the film, but she's still a very attractive girl. They should have chosen someone much plainer for the part.


What's funny is the author wanted Mae as Bianca, even though her appearance in the book is debatable since all we know is she has auburn hair, a big butt and small breasts and something about her hips.

2. Speaking of her style - the whole film leads up to the typical "I'm happy being myself" theme, but then by the end of the film her dress sense is much more feminine. I guess you can say this is because she's developed as a character, but it kind of reinforces the idea that a girl in a flannel shirt and denim jeans can't still get the guy without making a physical change.


The dress sense change is her being more confident and breaking out of her comfort. What's wrong with that?

3. Wes is super unrealistic as a character. He wouldn't have gone that far out of his way to help her, especially if being seen hanging out with her embarrassed him. There's some super awkward moments where she barges into the mens room and he's completely fine with it, he takes her into a spare room to strategise her "date". What's he really getting out of all this? A better science grade? Is there nobody else in the school willing to tutor a really hot/popular guy without him getting into some binding contract?


Frankly I find this more believeable than the book. His character is even more unrealistic since Bianca treats him like trash, uses him and he falls in love with her and even changes in the end...for her.

6. There's very little development of the romance between Wes and Bianca. One minute they're a bit disgusted by each other, then she's suddenly kissing him on a rock, then they're mutually jealous and by the end they're this super serious couple and living happily ever after. Yeah - that happens.


Still better than the book.

I would always rather be happy than dignified. 

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1. You've literally answered your own complaint though. Wes even says in the movie (and you even mention it here) that the Duff doesn't specifically have to be fat nor ugly. And it wasn't ever specifically pointed out in the movie that anyone found her any of those things (other than the mean video, which wasn't going to picture her in pretty light regardless). She was only considered the Duff because she was lazy in her appearance. Her hair was always messy, she always wore baggy, ratty clothing and the way she carried herself in general made her the duff. Not her actual proportions.

2. She can still be happy with who she is and wear a dress. And Wes was going to pick her in the end whether she showed up in a dress or a trash bag.

3. They were life long neighbors and friends, despite their differences. Why wouldn't he have gone out of his way to help her?

4. Yes, he knew Bianca liked him, he was still using her to get to the others.
As for having varied tastes. . .So? Do you like only one specific type of person? Can't you find two different people attractive?
And they were referred to "Jess and Casey" as if they were one identity because every time they were mentioned that was the intention. They were being referred to together, as a group, a pair.

5. Teenagers have stupid fights over nothing and can easily overreact.

6. Is there ever really any actual development between lovers in a romcom?
But I'd say for development the movie didn't do too bad of a job.
They have known each other and have been friendly with each other for a long time, it just took the the duff event to make things happen.

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I'm aware of everything you just said. My complaint is that none of it is realistic and imo it's the reason the film wasn't better.

1. Maybe this is just where I'm from but an attractive person, even in dungarees and a flannel shirt, would not have been given the kind of abuse that Bianca is. Because she is still very good looking.

2. Okay. Well if that was the case, and Wes was so in love with who she was at the beginning - why the dress? The film contradicts your point because they DID make her more attractive.

3. No. Realistically he absolutely wouldn't have gone out of his way to help her.

4. Realistically Toby would have had a crush on just one of them. And he specifically says "When I asked you over, I thought you meant Jess and Casey too. This is highlighted again by him setting four places for dinner. So my point is... why would he think that when their names are never mentioned?

5. The Jess and Casey argument was clearly written in to drive the plot onwards. It works but it's not good, or believable.

6. Of course most love stories have a development. At least the best ones. Those ongoing moments where dislike turns to fondness and then gradually into something deeper. It's why you care at the end if the couple end up together, which frankly is what this romance lacked.

I sort of wanted them together because I empathised with Bianca for what she had been through, but I don't think it was well done. I'd have been as satisfied if any hot guy from the school realised she was attractive (despite everyone weirdly acting like she wasn't) or even better - if she had just not ended up with any guy because she realised she didn't need to change or have a boyfriend to feel secure about herself again.

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wow, the OP is cynical. I grew up with a friend who was a year younger than me, and my senior year i transferred to his school because they started an arts charter school. the junior class didn't have enough money for prom, so i invited him to mine and he accepted. i didn't think it was a big deal until i was at the school for a few months and found out he was a bit of a fabio. to me, he was practically my baby brother but when others found out he was going to prom with me, there was a bit of 'how did she accomplish THAT?'. (i should also mention i'm disabled, which shows you how shallow teens can be) did we end up falling in love? no, but we'd known each other all our lives just like wes and bianca. it's NOT unrealistic.

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I agree at the end. I kind of wished she found inner peace and more self esteem at the end and realized she didn't need a boyfriend after that entire debacle. But then again, it's Hollywood.

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I'm just responding to one point you made which really bugged me too, but I think we have to see it as some type of compromise.

I have always had a problem with movies or even those TV shows that demonstrate a person does and will somehow rise with an external makeover. It implies that a person's worth is dependent on how they dress.

I fell for all that crap and only now realize how much effort and money I wasted trying to fit some vision or stereotype of what a woman is "supposed" to look like. True, you do "fit in" more, but the flip side is you lose part of your natural self expression.

Currently I'm a whole lot more like Bianca and I dress like her, and in accepting that, I've actually become a better person inside too because I'm not uncomfortable trying to fake people out.

Pushing for someone to dress differently, to "feminize" them in order to be accepted, approved of, or be popular... This attitude just leads to superficiality and bullying and doesn't do a darn thing for teaching kids, or people, to be self-confident in their own natural expression.


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Sic vis pacem para bellum.

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i had the opposite problem as bianca in school. i'm hispanic and we dress in dresses and more vibrant colors. this is how i dressed in school until 6th grade when i was criticized and asked why i 'dressed like i was going to a party'. so i pulled out the jeans and flannel, so to speak and people got off my back. i think a lot of people are missing the point of the film that BIANCA wanted to change and be more accepted, it wasn't some bet on wesley and his friends part. also, what's so wrong and unrealistic about wesley suddenly realizing this isn't the way he likes bianca? he started liking her WAY before the prom scene. they grew up together. no one ever said he didn't like HER, SHE said she didn't like HIM because he was a pig and a neanderthal and like he says 'you're racist against jocks'. and lastly, she wasn't looking for a boyfriend. wes was a good guy, helping her out with something and she realized he was a different person than she perceived, so she started to like him. what was she supposed to do at homecoming, say 'thanks but no thanks. i don't need a man'. man, this feminist BS is getting out of control.

and those of you thinking it's about what a women is 'supposed to look like' is missing the point. there's nothing wrong someone saying you should take some pride in your appearance. Bianca dressed like she rolled out of bed. have some pride and self respect!

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What you are terming "like she rolled out of bed" is actually the way some people dress that is natural and comfortable to them. Just because they don't get dressed up in clothes for the sake of fashion and appealing to someone else's subjective idea of attractiveness,....well that does not detract from her as a woman, a person, a friend, a partner.

Take some pride in her appearance? That again is a subjective phrase. She is. She is dressing in her style, her fashion, her way. And just because you personally don't think she's dressed in fashionable or socially acceptable clothes for a female,...well, personal opinion.

I happen to think she looks fine just the way she is. Best to be accepted for how you really are and not be desired, appreciated or judged because you don't dress pretty. I'd prefer her as she is without all the fakery.


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Sic vis pacem para bellum.

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Your number one though is subjective about beauty. Sure there's a standard, but it changes based on the industry. Bianca was pretty and wore comfy clothes. Her friends were pretty and wore more fashionable clothes.

As for a dress, you might be right that she up'ed her game in the fashion area. But we don't know what she would have worn on a date. We didn't see her dating before Wes.

I think there was balance because he needed something from her, and probably didn't want too many people to know. He wasn't your standard jock from a happy home. He had secrets, and I think he trusted her.

I'm not sure boys will only crush on one girl these days.

As for the relationship, I saw neighbors, who grew close because they both wanted something from each other. They got to know one another, and was able to tell those dark secrets to each other. They might not have know they were friends, but they were. The kiss surprised them both, which they both ignored. They made up and she defended him, who doesn't want a knight in shining armour? From friends they went to BF and GF.

But Bianca wanted a boyfriend. And you might have a point about her make-over. It would have been nice to see her in her overalls. But I'm not sure you wear overalls to edit: all restaurants. Also, did she have her boots on, blending old with the new? I will need to watch again.

I have been bent and broken, but, I hope, into a better shape, Grimm

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1. Good for you if that's the case where you're from. I can see that happening in your typical high school (not just in the US). As you said, the insults (calling her fat etc) were in the comments on the video that was spread, which was showing her in an embarassing situation plus with the added effects etc, I can absolutely see this kind of bullying going on. Of course she's not really fat, but would (cyber) bullies care about that? Sadly that's the reality.

2. He wanted her to feel better about herself and boost her self confidence, which is why he told her to step out of her comfort zone. She did it and in the end it worked out for her. As another poster said, Wes couldn't care less about the way she dressed in the end. I think that was quite clear.

3. Funny how you tend to answer your own questions. Yes, initially he did it because she would help him with his science grade. His scholarship was on the line, so it was a pretty big deal. So I think it is highly realistic that he would go out of his way for her. And that's even before he started to develop, or admit to, his feelings for her.

4. Well, maybe it's not that he has a crush, but he was just trying to f-ck them? I think Toby was the real man whore in this movie, although it wasn't stated explicitly. It was a bit strange that at first he said he had some friend or friends who were into Jess and Casey and shortly afterwards says that he himself was hoping for a shot at them. But we don't know a lot about him. I assume he and his friends are just looking for hot girls to f-ck. I'm sure he already had Madison. ;)

5. I agree that Jess and Casey where poorly written, especially the scene where they are "canceling" their friendship and the easy reconciliation. It is true that teenagers fight over petty stuff and then make up, but to me this was pretty unrealistic as well.

6. RomComs are not real life. Unfortunately. lol. But I disagree: I cared about them and hoped they would end up together. I think they had real good chemistry.

I think she had enough character development and also would have been confident about herself if she didn't end up with anybody. Still glad she did though. ;)

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I was just bothered by the fact that I only had to watch for 5 minutes to figure out how it would end. These teen movies always have to have happy endings...as if everyone got one in high school. Sheesh!

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