Before today, I didn't know what The Duff was. Apparently, not only is it based on popular book of the same name by Kody Keplinger from 2010, but now it's a feature-length film starring Mae Whitman, Bella Thorne and Ken Jeong being released sometime next year.

Knowing nothing about the film, I decided to give its recently-released trailer a watch, liking Whitman's work and seeing if she could lead her own film. And, despite being able to watch it from beginning to end, I couldn't help but be filled with a sense of rage I haven't experienced from a trailer in some time.

You see, The Duff centers on Bianca (Whitman), a self-content high school senior who, when attending a party, makes an unusual discovery about herself. In blunt, only-in-a-movie fashion, Bianca gets the wake-up call that she's the "D.U.F.F." of her friends, a.k.a. the Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Naturally upset, she is determined to change her social status. And this can apparently only be done by the help of a man, who will make her more well-liked by by changing her wardrobe, appearance and attitude, or, essentially, her personality.

Now, I haven't read the book, nor—of course—have I seen this film. I'm not a bleeding heart feminist, or am trying to make some grand message about the state of women in Hollywood. But this, to me, is the straw that broke the camel's back. It's bad enough that the movie is ripping its plot off of movies that weren't that good to begin with, like She's All That or, as Film Drunk astutely noted, Not Another Teen Movie, which did it in purely satirical (if not highly successful) fashion. But the movie is purely succumbing to dated stereotypes of genders, both of them, that are not only outdated, but flat and distant from reality.

Sure, high schoolers are far from the most considerate people on the planet. But the world in which The Duff lives in makes everyone seem to have the ugliest personality ever. There's a difference between being mean-spirited and just being mean. I like mean-spirited comedy, but there has to be a point. There needs to be a rhythm or reason for it, or else you're just being a bad person. The Duff seems to be tickled at the possibility of making some satirical point about this all. But that point has already been made, with these same character archetypes and characters, ten years prior.

By attempting to a cell-phone clad, shorter attention-spanned audience, these archetypes apparently need to be heightened to eleven, you make these personalities even more of characters than they already are. Therein by losing any sense of cultural relevance or immediacy, with makes The Duff just seem like a sad state of affairs for where our culture is heading.

Like I said, I don't have a soapbox to stand on this. I don't have any stakes in this: I'm not the target audience, and I haven't read the book or seen the movie to back up my claims. But as someone who enjoys seeing negative female stereotypes gradually get shut down on a daily basis, The Duff seems like a huge step back for feminism. Adding insult to injury is that this book, apparently, came from the mind of a 17-year-old girl, likely perpetuated by the negative cultural surroundings celebrated in this story.

As a man, I feel like this a terrible reflection of our cultural mindset, so I can only imagine what women must feel about this. It saddens me that someone like Whitman, who is neither fat or ugly—even by Hollywood standards—must subset herself to this kind of work to get a lead part, after shining in supporting roles over the years in Arrested Development and Scott Pilgrims vs. The World. Maybe, one day, films like this won't have to made, and she'll get a lead part worth of her talents.

For reference, or to boost your blood pressures, here's the trailer:

Image courtesy of Peter West/ACE/INFphoto.com