Leaked Teaser for Mae Whitman, Bella Thorne YA Adaptation ‘The DUFF’

Since the era of Mean Girls, the teen comedy genre has taken a downturn in popularity at the theaters, while serious YA Adaptations (e.g. The Fault in Our Stars, If I Stay) have experienced a run of box office success. That being said, CBS Films and Lionsgate hope to reinvigorate the teen comedy demand with The DUFF, an adaptation of Kody Keplinger’s YA novel where DUFF stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend, to be portrayed by Mae Whitman (Perks of Being a Wallflower, Parenthood). In this story, Bianca (Whitman) creates a social revolution at her high school after learning of the insensitive label given to her by her own group of friends.

Whether or not you are willing to suspend your disbelief to buy Whitman as ugly or fat – or as a teenager – the overall plot does bring something new to the teen market, and parallels the growing need for realistic female expectations within Hollywood. Lionsgate looks to release the film on February 20, 2015, with a full trailer to debut next week. In the meantime, check out the leaked teaser below.