A Lot to Parse Here: First Trailer for The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)

Gang, I just don’t know how to feel. I love me an Easy A/Mean Girls-type high school movie, and Mae Whitman seems reliably hilarious and self-aware in that trailer, but oof. This is a head-scratcher. Here’s The DUFF‘s official synopsis:

Bianca (Mae Whitman) is a content high school senior whose world is shattered when she learns the student body knows her as ‘The DUFF’ (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) to her prettier, more popular friends (Skyler Samuels & Bianca Santos).  Now, despite the words of caution from her favorite teacher (Ken Jeong), she puts aside the potential distraction of her crush, Toby (Nick Eversman), and enlists Wesley (Robbie Amell), a slick but charming jock, to help reinvent herself. To save her senior year from turning into a total disaster, Bianca must find the confidence to overthrow the school’s ruthless label maker Madison (Bella Thorne) and remind everyone that no matter what people look or act like, we are all someone’s DUFF.

The film’s first poster is also a little disconcerting:

With a tagline like that, I’m worried any feel-good twist on the movie’s satirically superficial message might get lost. It’s hard not imagine impressionable actual high-schoolers (as opposed to the across-the-board gorgeous adult actors in the film) seeing The DUFF trailer without scrutinizing their own appearance intensely, and that’s not something we need more of. Then again, Mae Whitman! Allison Janney as, um, someone who rides a lawnmower while drinking wine! I’m very cautiously intrigued.

What do you all think?

(Via Collider)

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