To the producers:
Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Every person in his or her life has felt like this friend. So, when it came across your desk as a proposition for a movie, you jumped at the opportunity. You thought: Yes! This is the perfect way to get young girls' attention! It is! That's the whole reason behind the word. However, for those of you who don't know, DUFF is in fact a book. In fact it's one of my favorite books. And from a dear fan of this book, I really want to tell you how much you ruined the message behind the book.
First, let me tell you why I fell in love with the book. It was an empowerment to women who felt less than worthy. It was a book that gave the story behind the curtain that too many of us are scared to talk about. The book gave us a reason to hope for a brighter future, and that even when we are at our lowest points in our lives, leaning on friends, talking, and believing in ourselves, will get us through anything.
Now let me tell you why you butchered a novel that shaped my self-confidence. First, let's start with a simple error that just annoyed me. You changed the high school name. Why? What is the point in changing something so minuscule? It's a name that I am sure no movie watcher even noticed or remembered. The least you could do is keep that the same.
Next, let's look at her parents. In the movie her mom is part of her life like no other. In the book, her mom left her to go on a book tour so Bianca stayed home with her ever loving peaceful dad. The trouble in her life amounted when her mother decided she wanted a divorce, which drove her father into drinking after being sober for 18 years. Talk about a page turner.
Next, let's jump to Toby Tucker. In the movie he is a hippie guitar playing boy who treats Bianca horribly. In the novel the specific words are "he was not a guitar loving hippie person." Would you look at that! You turned an important character into something the book specifically said he wasn't. Toby Tucker was a political rebel, who was smart enough he was accepted into Harvard. He and Bianca actually dated. He didn't use her for any reason.
Next, let's analyze the relationship between Wesley Rush and Bianca. They weren't friends because they had known each other for forever. They were friends because Wesley was trying to use Bianca to sleep with her two hot best friends. By talking to the DUFF, he was gaining points with her friends already. They became close when they had to work on a project together and Bianca started to sleep with him to escape her ex-boyfriend problems, and her parent's divorce.
Finally, even though I could go on and on about how wrong this movie was, I want to point out the number one thing that troubled me. Bianca goes for a major change in style in the movie. In the book, Bianca doesn't change the way she looks for anything or anyone. She remains who she is from the start because she doesn't care what people think of how she looks. She cares about being herself. She is a strong independent woman that any girl should look up to.
So, I will leave you with this. Thank you for turning a wonderful, deep, complicated, well written, easily relatable novel into a cheesy, wrong, simple minded, chick flick. I will stick to the novel myself.
Sincerely,
An angered DUFF book fan
