#24 THE DUFF

#24 THE DUFF (18/4/15)

Starring Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Skyler Samuels and Bianca A. Santos. Story by Kody Keplinger, screenplay by Josh A. Cagan and directed by Ari Sandal. 101 minutes long.

Mae is Bianca Piper, baggy-dungaree, tartan-shirted - over iconic t-shirt -wearing, big booted, sassy, super nerd, friend to two super-hot friends who discovers she's a DUFF - Designated. Ugly. Fat. Friend, goes into melt down and recruits childhood friend, super-jock, hunk, Wesley Rush, Amell Bella to help her step out of her ex-friend's shadow, girl up and bag a boyfriend of her own.

It's a sort of 'Pygmalion' type story set in an American high school, so not really an original premise. It's the generic story of girl wants boy, recruits other, hot, boy to help her, gets boy but realises he's a tool and that it's the other boy, the hot one, she really wanted and he her. Along the way, she discovers her own inner strength to stand up to bullies and reunites with ex friends and then dumps her cool, nerd look to scrub up and do a full Gok Wan (or is it Gonk?) just in time for the prom and the final kiss with the hot boy.

Fun while it lasts, not terrible, not terribly good either, just sort of existing. It'll probably give you a smile but that's about it, just ignore the huge plot clunkers and the what-the moments as characters suddenly act differently just to propel the wheezing, lumbering, ancient old plot along to the next point.

5/10