About The Duff
Directed by Ari Sandel, The DUFF is a teen comedy starring Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Bianca Santos, Skyler Samuels, Romany Malco, Ken Jeong and Allison Janney. It was released in the year 2015.
The DUFF, an acronym standing for Designated Ugly Fat Friend, is about Bianca who is the DUFF that everyone uses to get to the more popular kids in school. The movie concentrates on Bianca’s journey to growing more confident and becoming less of a DUFF, despite the intentions of high school mean girl Madison to do whatever she can to make Bianca’s life a living hell.
After a recent re-watch, I put together this list of movies like The Duff. Here’s hoping you’ve ticked some of these off your bucket list already. If not, bookmark this article for your next movie night.
1. Booksmart (2019)
Directed by Olivia Wilde, Booksmart is a sweet coming of age film starring Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Jessica Williams, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis. It’s about two best friends in their last few days of high school, Amy and Molly, who rule the school inside their heads. It was released in the year 2019.
The pair get excellent grades and Molly is convinced they are the only ones who got into really good universities because they spent their time studying and not doing frivolous things like going to parties.
However, on the eve of their high school graduation they realize they should have worked less and played more. Determined to never fall short of their peers, the girls set out on a mission to cram four years of fun into one night.
2. Superbad (2007)
Directed by Greg Mottola, Superbad is a comedy film about two best friends, Seth and Evan (two absolute losers), who are about to graduate high school and desperately want to lose their virginity before heading off to college.
What follows is a hilarious ensemble of bizarre adventures as they try to secure alcohol for a party in an effort to impress a pair of girls and make the most of their final days of adolescence. There isn’t a movie on this list which captures the awkwardness of adolescence and just how hilarious it can be more than Superbad!
3. Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Written by Steve Zacharias and Jeff Buhai and directed by Jeff Kanew, Revenge of the Nerds stars Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Ted McGinley and Bernie Casey. It was released in the year 1984.
Revenge of the Nerds is about exactly what the title says. It follows a group of nerds who plot to get revenge on the ongoing harassment they suffer at Adams College from the jock fraternity, the Alpha Betas, and its sister sorority, Pi Delta Pi. If you were bullied for being different then this is the perfect type of revenge story!
4. Mean Girls (2004)
Mean Girls is another teen comedy movie you would love to watch. Teenage Cady Heron moves to the suburbs of Illinois and joins public school, She gets a quick primer on the cruel, tacit laws of popularity that divide her fellow students into tightly knit cliques.
She unwittingly finds herself in the good graces of an elite group of cool students dubbed “the Plastics,” but Cady soon realizes how her shallow group of new friends earned this nickname.
RELATED: 17 Movies like Mean Girls to make you feel popular
5. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Directed by Gil Junger, 10 Things I Hate About You is a modern day reinterpretation of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Focusing on a high-school kid named Cameron, who wants to date Bianca, who is then told by Bianca that her dad won’t let her date anyone until her older sister has a boyfriend.
This leads Cameron to pay school yard bad boy, Patrick, to date Bianca’s sister, Kat. Which results in Kat falling for him. In which the typical teenager drama ensues, resulting in Kat getting really upset when she learns the truth of Cameron and Patrick’s agreement.
10 Things I Hate About You also has one of the best soundtracks of any of the films on this list. So it’s certainly worth diving back in to this classic!
6. Easy A (2010)
Easy A is a comedy in which a high-school student finds herself labelled as promiscuous after some gossip is overheard, a clean cut high school girl sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne’s in “The Scarlet Letter,” which she is currently studying in school until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing.
Now her classmates are turning against her and the school board is becoming concerned, including her favorite teacher and the distracted guidance counselor. With the support of her hilariously idiosyncratic parents and a little help from a long-time crush, Olive attempts to take on her notorious new identity and crush the rumor mill once and for all.
7. She’s All That (1999)
Directed by Robert Iscove, She’s All That is a teen romantic comedy film starring Freddie Prinze Jr and Rachael Leigh Cook. The movie follows Zack Siler, a high school student who is popular and confident who is suddenly dumped by his girlfriend. As a result, he makes a bet with his friends that he can transform any girl into the school’s next prom queen.
Zack sets his sights on Laney Boggs, a socially awkward and introverted artist who has just been ostracized by her friends. As Zack sets out to transform Laney into the school’s prom queen, he discovers that she is not the person he thought she was, and he starts to fall in love with her. As a light hearted feel good 90s film, it’s now considered a rom-com classic.
Ugh. Now I feel old.
8. Heathers (1988)
The odd and often uncomfortable world of teen peer pressure is no stranger to any of us, and this dark comedy zooms unhesitatingly into this pressure cooker. It dishes up some grotesque stereotypes, and tosses them into a cleverly campy scenario that threatens the lives of the entire student body of Westburg High.
Heathers is a well-acted movie with many memorable lines. It’s become a classic of the teenage macabre genre, and with good reason. Older teens and adults will find that there’s much dark delight to be found in its silly, biting twist on teen life.
9. The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)
The Diary of a Teenage Girl portrays the life of Minnie, a young teen artist living in 1970s San Francisco who enters into an affair with her mother’s boyfriend. Minnie had a poor self-image, when discovers she is attractive and that she loves sex. Her at times drug induced, artistic-imagination often intercedes in her reality. In this story about sexual betrayal and a coming-of-age young girl, discovering herself as a woman.
10. Wild Child (2008)
Directed by Nick Moore, Wild Child is a teen comedy starring Emma Roberts, Natasha Richardson, Shirley Henderson, Alex Pettyfer and Aidan Quinn. It was released in the year 2008.
Wild Child focuses on privileged teen brat, Poppy Moore, who is sent to boarding school in England. Poppy’s own privileged American attitude is eventually seen be a mask she puts up due to the pain of having lost her mother to a plane crash. As the movie goes on Poppy begins to accept her English peers and they begin to accept her.
11. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004)
Directed by Sara Sugarman, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen stars Lindsay Lohan, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headly, Alison Pill and Carol Kane. It was released in the year 2004.
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is about an aspiring actress who moves from New York to New Jersey and the relationships she has with her favourite rock musician, her mother and her best friend.
12. John Tucker Must Die (2006)
Written by Jeff Lowell and directed by Betty Thomas, John Tucker Must Die stars Jesse Metcalfe, Brittany Snow, Ashanti, Sophia Bush, Arielle Kebbel, Penn Badgley and Jenny McCarthy. It was released in the year 2006.
John Tucker Must Die is a teen comedy in which three teenage girls discover basketball star, John Tucker, has secretly been dating all of them at once. The trio of girls plot to break his heart and ridiculous teenage girl drama ensues.
13. Pitch Perfect (2012)
Written by Kay Cannon and directed by Jason Moore, Pitch Perfect stars Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks. It was released in the year 2012.
The plot in this one is pretty simple. It follows Barden University’s all-girl a cappella group, the Barden Bellas, as they compete against other a capella groups across the country as they strive to win the Nationals.
14. Juno (2007)
Written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman, Juno stars Elliot Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney and J. K. Simmons. It was released in the year 2007.
Juno is about Elliot Page’s character, Juno, who is a 16 year old student suddenly faced with the pressures of adult life due to an unplanned pregnancy. Not to mention her relationship with Paulie and how the two with come to terms with how they are very much in love and how they will raise their baby together.
15. Love, Simon (2018)
Written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger and directed by Greg Berlanti, Love, Simon stars Nick Robinson, Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Garner. It was released in the year 2018.
Love, Simon is a romantic-comedy/drama movie which follows Nick Robinson’s character, Simon Spier, who is a gay teenager still in the closet. The story which follows Simon’s efforts to try and balance school, friends, family and the threat of a blackmailer planning to “out him”.
16. I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)
Directed by Chris Columbus, I Love You, Beth Cooper is a teen rom-com starring Hayden Panettiere, Paul Rust, Jack Carpenter and Lauren London. It was released in the year 2009.
I Love You, Beth Cooper is about Paul Rust’s character, Denis, who confesses his love for head cheerleader, Beth, and their graduation day. Unfortunately for him, things don’t quite go the way he intended.
17. She’s Out of My League (2010)
Directed by Jim Field Smith, She’s Out of My League is a romantic comedy starring Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller, Mike Vogel, Nate Torrence, Krysten Ritter, Geoff Stults and Lindsay Sloane. It was released in the year 2010.
She’s Out of My League is a classic rom-com where two strangers (Kirk and Molly) meet during a random set of circumstances. As a result they end up dating but because one of them is a 10 and the other is a 5 their relationship faces a whole bunch of hurdles. One of them being Kirk’s insecurities. Thankfully, he overcomes them and the two live happily ever after.
Typical Hollywood.
18. American Pie (1999)
Directed by Paul Weitz, American Pie is a teen sex comedy starring Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Eugene Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Seann William Scott, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari and Eddie Kaye Thomas. It was released in the year 1999.
American Pie follows a group of high school friends as they navigate their way through the ups and downs of teenage life, including first loves, heartbreak, and the quest to lose their virginity before graduation.
With its relatable characters, raunchy humor, and timeless themes, American Pie has become a beloved staple of pop culture and has spawned numerous sequels and spin-offs. Whether you’re a fan of the original or new to the franchise, American Pie is sure to leave you laughing, cringing, and feeling nostalgic for your own high school days.
RELATED: Dirty Pie – 15 Movies like American Pie for Epic Nostalgia
19. The F**k-It List (2020)
Directed by Michael Duggan and co-written by Michael Duggan and Dan McDermott, The F**k-It List is a coming of age comedy starring Eli Brown, Madison Iseman, Jerry O’Connell, Karan Brar and Tristan Lake Leabu. It was released in the year 2020.
The F**k-It List is about a grade-A senior high-school student who is involved in a prank which changes his life and causes him to create a bucket-list of things he wants to experience – dubbing it the F**k-It list.
20. American Pie Presents: Girls Rules (2020)
Directed by Mike Elliott, American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules is a comedy set within the American Pie franchise. It stars Madison Pettis, Lizze Broadway, Piper Curda, Natasha Behnam, Darren Barnet, Zachary Gordon, Barry Bostwick, Ed Quinn, Sara Rue and Danny Trejo. It was released in the year 2020.
American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules is a standalone sequel which focuses on Stifler’s cousin, Stephanie, and her misadventures with her group of gal pals.
21. No Hard Feelings (2023)
Directed by Gene Stupnitsky, No Hard Feelings is a comedy starring Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales and Matthew Broderick. It was released in the year 2023.
No Hard Feelings focuses on J-Law’s character, Maddie, who is behind on all her property taxes and is at risk of having her home possessed. To make matters worse? She’s an uber driver who’s just had her car re-possessed. Unclear of a way out of financial ruin, Maddie sees a craigslist posting where two helicopter parents want an older woman to date their son and help bring him out of his shell. In exchange, they’ll give a Buick Regal for her time.
Unfortunately, Maddie eventually starts to become friends with the son, Percy (played by Andrew Barth Feldman), and this throws an uncomfortable dynamic into the mix.
RELATED: That’s My Uber Driver – 19 Movies like No Hard Feelings
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