DUFF - If you don't have one, you are one!

Actually, Bianca (Mae Whitman) is quite content with her life. Good, she may not be the most popular girl at her school. But she has two best friends in Jess (Skyler Samuels) and Casey (Bianca Santos), with whom she's been through thick and thin for years. And girl crush Wesley (Robbie Amell) has been a close friend since the sandbox. So even the eternal teasing from school bitch Madison (Bella Thorne) can be endured. But then she learns what a DUFF (Designatet Ugly Fat Friend) is and has to fear that in her clique she takes exactly this role of the less attractive appendage, which is used by boys only to get to Jess and Casey. And suddenly the once so unbreakable friendship between the girls breaks and Bianca wants to do everything to stop being a DUFF. Wesley, of all people, is supposed to help her, and he's willing to do so for a few lessons. But his ex Madison doesn't like that at all and she makes it her sole mission to sabotage Bianca wherever she can. A DUFF can't steal her thunder after all...

DUFF - If you don't have one, you are one! sounds like a typical teen high school comedy. And basically, that's exactly what it is. But it happens every few years that there are films in this not-so-deep genre that are pleasantly cheeky, clever and charming and thus stand out from the crowd. That was the case with Clueless, as well as Girls Club or Simply to Be Had. Ari Sandel's directorial debut, based on the novel Because of Love by Kody Keplinger, is clearly one of those same positive genre surprises, as reflected in the fine cast, some genuinely amusing gags and well-written dialogue.

The scene alone where Bianca and her two best friends fall out is quite wonderfully written. Where in the past you'd just hurl insults at each other before storming off in a huff, now you have to unfriend each other first on Facebook, unfollow your Twitter feed, delete your Instagram photos and so on. The messy problem of cyber-bullying is also dealt with here in a pleasantly ironic way, without ridiculing the victims. Sandel and screenwriter Josh A. Cagan almost always find the right tone anyway to address the constant presence of social media in most teenagers' lives without simply demonizing it. This gives the impression that they understand and take seriously the characters of their film and their problems and thus also those of the target audience, but then deal with them in an appropriately biting and ironic way.

The young ensemble is also convincing, led by former child actress Mae Whitman (Independence Day, Parenthood), who perfectly embodies the mixture of unassuming DUFF and self-confident young woman. But also Disney star Bella Thorne as an icy bitch or Allison Janney as Bianca's not quite conventional mother can convince all along the line. Sure, DUFF - Hast du keine, bist du eine! is neither particularly sophisticated, nor does the comedy reinvent the genre of teen comedy. But a good script, loose direction and the well-acted cast turn a rather conventional story into a very charming, easy-going fun that you can relate to even if you yourself are no longer part of the YouTube and Instagram generation. An excellent proof that teen comedies don't automatically have to be flat and stupid and sometimes are much better than their reputation. Quite clearly: Worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp