Guy D’Alema

Mae Whitman in The DUFF, to be released on Feb. 20 by Lionsgate and CBS Films.

After years of everyone having Mean Girls as their go-to movie for laughs and a high school plot, there’s a new movie coming out to help alter the misconception of drama and stereotypes teens face in school. The Duff is a new twist on a not-so-common high school experience. The main character Bianca was played by actress Mae Whitman.

“I think this film was a special opportunity to encourage everybody to be their different, wonderful selves and feel good about being an individual and diverse. The Duff reinvents the wheel as far as classic Hollywood movies go,” Whitman said.

Whitman was especially eager to hop on board as a member of the cast. She used her own high school experiences to drive her character.

“I had a hard time when I was growing up, so I just went back there and relived those sad memories. I was bullied and called weird names. That’s a big reason why I was drawn to doing this movie. A lot of people go through this and I certainly had. I wanted to use my experience to make people feel less alone. But it definitely gets better after high school,” she said.

Whitman, along with her co-stars Bella Thorne and Robbie Amell, believe there’s a bigger message behind the idea of the Designated Ugly Fat Friend (DUFF).

“I think it breaks down the need for people to compare, judge and keep people down. I think it’s really limiting for everyone involved and it’s just not real. It’s hard when you don’t really have any perspective, especially when you’re in school. Everything feels so present. I wanted to try to provide a perspective that none of that stuff is real and you don’t have to participate in anything that doesn’t feel like it makes you the best version of who you are,” Whitman said.

But even though the idea of DUFF is used in the film, the stereotype is exaggerated and used to expose fictional labels.

“People that try to drag you down because they’re insecure and threatened by you. I think that’s what we really wanted to convey with this movie, was how silly it is to think that anyone deserves to be put in a box that someone makes up for their own weird, sad reasons. None of that stuff exists,” Whitman said. “You’re the only one who can say who you are and be who you are. It’s more a feeling.”

Whitman is optimistic with how powerful and unique The Duff is compared to other teenage movies.

“One thing that we all thought was really cool about this movie from the beginning is that [Bianca] doesn’t change who she is the whole time. She never changes her personality or who she is. I think it’s a really cool thing to sort of shed some light on and help people get a perspective on other people who are insecure and try to put you in a box. It has nothing to do with you. It’s their problem,” Whitman said.

Since the movie revolves around high school, and for Whitman, took her back through it, there were a lot of things she learned throughout her experience.

“I learned that people feel out of place for a lot of different reasons and it’s exciting to me to hear people relate and feel a little bit of a connection or relief from feeling alone and feeling out of place, and sort of gives people a place to realize how cool being a complete individual can be,” she said.

The goal of the film is to play a positive role in the change of bullying and the way teenagers deal with having self-confidence.

“I hope we can be successful. I mean, to me, this is a struggle that’s very real for me in even just being an actor,” Whitman said. “Everybody is an individual and everybody has something special and amazing to offer.”