The DUFF

The DUFF has quietly become one of the more dependable comedies currently available in Australia on Amazon Prime Video and Stan, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and YouTube TV. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. 4,483 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Mae Whitman sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. Start it on Amazon Prime Video whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

There is a reason The DUFF keeps coming up in conversation. The DUFF does what great comedies rarely manage — it is actually funny, consistently, across the whole run. Bianca's universe turns upside down when she learns that her high school refers to her as a ‘DUFF' (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). Hoping to erase that label, she enlists the help of a charming jock and her favorite teacher. Together they'll face the school's mean girl and remind everyone that we are all someone's DUFF… and that's totally fine. Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2015. The DUFF earns its laughs from character rather than situation, which is why it does not wear thin the way pure farce tends to. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Comedy fans looking for a reliably funny watch will find it in The DUFF. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Mae Whitman's comic timing carries it through its weaker moments. The kind of comedy you recommend to someone who claims they do not watch much.