Maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe you haven’t, but this new movie called The DUFF comes out today and people are calling it the next Mean Girls. Like, the commercials actually say it is the Mean Girls of this generation.
But no.
Mean Girls is the Mean Girls of every generation.
When I first heard the term “duff” and then found out it stood for “designated ugly fat friend” and THEN found out there was a movie coming out about this I was all like “aww helllllll no.” The whole thing seemed like an awful idea to me. It was way too real. Duffs are real. Being fat is real. But talking about it — how unheard of! And then having a “duff” be some girl who is average weight and not actually “large” … you’re kidding right?
But then I thought about it more and I read about it more and realized that this movie is actually meant to be empowering, as was the book (which was written by Kody Keplinger when she was only 17!). Everyone feels like the “duff” sometimes (or all the time) and that’s what the story is all about. Body image issues. Much like the article I wrote a year ago “10 Struggles of Being Not Skinny But Not Fat,” it shows how ridiculous us ladies are and how mean we are to ourselves — never mind others. When I wrote that article, I was overwhelmed by the number of females (and males) who “related.” Ano-thin people were sharing it saying “this is soooooooooo me.” Which just goes to show “fat” is more of a feeling than a physical description.
But anyway, can you compare the above to Mean Girls?!
NO! They both have a great message disguised with humor, but they’re different. Here’s why…
1. One is about being mean to yourself and the other is about being mean to others. The Duff empowers young ladies to love themselves and to stop being so self-conscious… And Mean Girls empowers females to stop calling each other “sluts” and “whores” and to stop judging people (lol, yeah right).
2. One was written by SNL alumni and the other was written by randoms. Mean Girls was written by SNL great Tina Fey. It was like a 2 hour long SNL sketch and it was FANTASTIC. Quotes galore. The DUFF is written by someone who is probably a great writer, but isn’t Tina Fey.
3. One features legendary SNL cast members in the cast and the other features her… literally. Mae Whitman from Arrested Development is the star of The Duff. Her? Yes.
Granted Egg, I mean Mae Whitman, is kind of awesome… where’s Tina Fey? Where’s Amy Poehler? Where’s Tim Meadows? The stars of The Duff may certainly move on up in the world of comedy from here, but the cast is kind of regular and not, you know, cool.
4. The commercials don’t really do it justice. When Mean Girls was coming out, I literally had a countdown going until I could see it in theaters. The commercials even inspired my wardrobe. Basically, I saw LiLo wearing six million skirts, so I went out and six million skirts. I doubt teen girls are changing their wardrobes on behalf of The Duff trailer.
5. I don’t see the stars of The Duff hosting the Golden Globes any time soon. The Duff may have a fantastic message, but a famous comedy duo? Nahhhh.
So… let’s all stop trying to make the next Mean Girls happen. It’s not going to happen. The Duff might end up being “super cute” and “laugh out loud funny,” but it’s by no means the next Mean Girls. GOD KAREN YOU’RE SO STUPID.
