Who's "The DUFF" In Your Life?

The DUFF (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Bianca Santos, Skyler Samuels, Nick Eversman, Ken Jeong, Romany Malco,

Directed by Ari Sandel

The Story:

Bianca (Whitman) is entering her senior year and she gets stuck with writing the article of what homecoming means to her by Mr. Arthur (Jeong). Naturally, Bianca is that one girl that has no interest in homecoming or the assignment. She does however, have a major crush on Toby (Eversman) and would do anything to get to know him. Enter her obnoxious jock "friend", Wesley (Amell) who is going to teach her how to stop being the DUFF and start being herself.

Okay, I suppose I owe the explanation of the acronym DUFF:

Designated Ugly Fat Friend.

:)

Once Bianca learns that she is the DUFF of her two best friends (Santos & Samuels) needless to say, she's not too happy.

And when the evil queen of the school (Thorne) tries to stop Bianca from being friendly with Wesley, the claws really come out.

So what do you think, sound familiar?

Taking equal parts of Whatever It Takes, She's All That, Mean Girls and countless other high school ugly duckling/beautiful swan movies, The DUFF adds to the catalog with another winner.

Because face it, when these are done well, they are a lot of fun and add another time capsule of "life in high school" to a long list of cinematic cult favorites.

It's a genre I enjoy watching, and normally they are fun to share with the kids.

This is where I pull out my soapbox and mention that this film uses a bit more language and innuendo than I would have preferred in a PG-13 film, so it gets knocked down because of it.

I still think it's a lazy screenwriter trap to be explicit, but the world is full of potty mouths, so what can you do?

I would have liked to add this to favorite films of the year, but I'm taking it down a notch for the language.

Still a pretty funny movie though.

Final Grade: B

These High School Kids Totally Suck... "Vampire Academy"

Vampire Academy (2014)

Rated PG-13 for language and blood-suckery

Starring Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry,

Directed by Mark Waters

The Story:

At St. Vladimir's Academy, the Moroi attempt a peaceful co-existence with humanity, feeding off the blood of willing vampire fans.  They are protected by the Dhampir, a half-human/half-vampire who learn how to save their Moroi in question from the Strigoi, the evil vampires of legend that just want to kill anything.

This story centers on Rose (Deutch) a Dhampir who shares a deep bond with her Moroi, Princess Lissa, the last of the Dragomir line.  They are on the run from the Academy, because there are some not-so-nice characters there as well, but alas, to make the story work, they are returned to the Academy to ramp up the conflict and tension.

Does it work?

Yeah, pretty much.

This can help get the taste of Twilight out of your mouth.

The latest teen vampire novel brought to the Silver Screen shows some serious promise.  Or tongue in cheek promise at the very least.

It's by no means perfect, but the cast of characters is pretty fleshed out, and they bring a nuanced layer to their Vampires, Dhampirs and the relationship between the two.

And yes, they set up a sequel perfectly that I'm ready to see.  The question is, will they make it?

The writing has flashes of brilliance and humor throughout, and Rose is easily the star of the movie.

Add in your typical romantic entanglements, high school issues that even vampires are not immune to, and it's easily watchable.

Not quite the instant cult classic that Waters gave us with Mean Girls a decade ago, but I can see this one gaining some traction as time passes.


Again, not perfect.

But not Twilight either.

And that's a huge step up for this guy.

Final Grade: C+.. maybe even B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Wouldn't rush out to buy it, but I could watch it again down the road a bit.

I Should Have "Gone" For A Different Movie. :)

Gone (2012)

Rated PG-13 for language and peril

Starring Amanda Seyfried, Daniel Sunjata, Jennifer Carpenter, Sebastian Stan

Directed by Heitor Dhalia

The Story:

Jill (Seyfried) was abducted and escaped her would-be killer.  The police (Sunjata) really don't believe her fantastical tale, and the medications she is taking are because everyone thinks she's crazy.  However, when her sister is abducted, Jill knows it was the same killer, and she sets out to find him, without the help of the police.

Meh.

It's your average thriller that's less than thrilling than it should be.

Boy meets girl.
Boy abducts girl.
Girl escapes boy.
Boy pursues girl.
Boy kidnaps different girl.
Girl seeks revenge on boy.
Happy ending, except for boy.

You'll see every twist.
Anticipate every turn.

Stifle every yawn.

I used to expect more from Amanda Seyfried, but lately, I'm not so sure anymore.

Ah well...there's always Mean Girls. ;)

Totally your call if you want to take the ride.

Final Grade: C-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: None for me, thanks.

High School is Full of "Mean Girls"

Sharpen your claws...

The Story:

Cady (Lindsay Lohan) is the new girl in school.  Here she meets the clique, "The Plastics": Regina (Rachel McAdams), Gretchen (Lacey Chabert) and Karen (Amanda Seyfried) the prettiest and most popular girls in school.  Also the bitchiest.  Hatching a plan with outsiders Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese) Cady is to infiltrate the Plastics and spy on them from within.  However, once Cady gets involved with the Plastics, how long can she maintain her innocence before she goes to the dark side?

Yep, another teen chick flick.

Thank heavens for little girls, otherwise I would miss out on a ton of funny movies.  But as a dad, it's my job to dutifully watch the animated movies with them when they are young, and then endure the genres with them as they grow older.

Luckily, I've seen much better films by their sides than I've seen terrible flicks.  Oh, and the kids have a cross between my movie taste and their mom's, so that means we usually see only the best of the bunch.

And this is  a great one!

Adapted for the screen, and also starring Tina Fey, the movie is a probably more accurate look at high school life for girls than people want to admit.

The cast is exceptional, from top to bottom.  It was Amanda Seyfried's first movie role, though she wouldn't become a superstar until Mamma Mia a few years later.

Rachel McAdams is in top form as the bad girl in her 2nd big screen role.  Naturally, she would go supernova with the release of the Notebook the same year.

Then there was Tina Fey who exploded upon a national audience with this film, where fans of her work on Saturday Night Live were already familiar with her skills, now the world was aware, and things have been looking up for her ever since.

Conversely... there is Lindsay Lohan, the star of the film.  Well... this was the last good movie she made, to be quite honest.  She was actually on a bit of a role with this capping off the terrific remake of Freaky Friday, the okay Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and she capped off the trifecta with this film.

And then life happened, she lost her mind, and has been a complete train wreck during the intervening decade.

Sad.

Thankfully, we've got this gem to remember the good times before she lost her mind.

: )

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Already own... watched it quite a bit... hilarious every time.  A special shout out to the underrated abilities of Tim Meadows who kills as the principal in his few scenes. : )

She's Hardly a "Wild Child". More Like a Spoiled Brat.

Where's Mrs. Garrett when you need her?

I now realize that joke has sailed over the heads of at least a generation, maybe more, of people.

:: sigh::

The Story:

Spoiled girl Poppy (Emma Roberts) is driving her widowed dad (Aidan Quinn) up the wall.  When her latest stunt pushes him over the edge, he ships her off to an English boarding school to learn some manners.  The headmistress, Miss Kinglsey (Natasha Richardson) has her work cut out for her, because Poppy has no desire to be there, and is going to push the limits and try to get expelled.  However, the more she pushes, strange things begin to happen, and Poppy is on her road to discovering some things about herself, and her family, that will change her forever...

Hopefully for the better.

Well, this movie is only 5 years old, so we've returned to more recent cinematic history.

Don't get too comfortable, if you've learned anything reading these reviews, I'm all over the map with what gets viewed. : )

First, this is a bittersweet movie to watch because it is Natasha Richardson's last performance.  She was a great actress who suffered a terrible skiing accident that robbed the world of decades of more of her work.  She comes from the Redgrave line of actresses, so you know you're getting quality whenever she was onscreen.

Second, there are movies that men, by design, are not the target audience for.  If I was single, or had only boys or no children, the odds of me watching this, or a thousand other teen girl comedies would likely have never entered my head.

Lucky for me, I have some wonderful girls, and I get to watch this, and other films like it with them.

Like all genres, there are some that absolutely stink up the joint.  Then there are classics that I could watch anytime, say Clueless or Mean Girls for example.

Then you have a little charmer like this one that falls short of greatness, but rises well above putrid. :)

Much of that credit has to go to Emma Roberts, whom I enjoy as an actress as much or more than I dislike her Aunt Julia for doing the same profession. : )

She plays a spoiled brat really well, but not one that is so far gone that you cannot believe the change of heart she has as the movie goes on.

To have a totally unlikeable lead character would have done this movie no good, and she balances the role nicely with that of her goody two-shoes version of Nancy Drew that she had done previously.

Yes, I've seen that one too, but that's a review for another time.

: )

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Watched it again for the first time in five years.  I knew I had seen it before, but it was like watching it for the first time.  Not rushing out to buy it, but I suspect I'll see it again in a few years as the next girls in my house get older.  No objections. :)