Dude From 'The Duff' Proves He Can Throw a Football Like a Normal Person

Football writer Marcus Mosher happened upon a clip yesterday from 2015’s The Duff, a charming little rom-com in which a high school girl finds out she’s “the designated ugly fat friend” and grapples with what that means. Along the way she realizes she’s been in love with her best friend, played by Robbie Amell, this whole time. It’s actually not bad.

Mosher noticed — and how could one not — that Amell, in his role as the stud local quarterback, had a regrettable throwing motion.

The clip made the rounds like things do this day and age, entertaining those with moth-like attention spans for a few seconds before the next thing emerged. Like feral hogs. Say, 30 to 50 of them.

Those Who Understand Film hypothesized that the truncated flick of the wrist could be a result of less-than-ideal conditions — namely, the existence of expensive camera equipment just a few feet away. They suggested Amell was throwing the ball so oddly because he wasn’t really throwing it at all, instead flicking it aside to avoid breaking something.

And, sure, life would have gone on if we never figured out the real answer. But the footage made its way back to Amell, who apparently has been bracing for this moment for years.

It takes a lot to feel sorry for an objectively handsome Hollywood actor. This qualifies.

Amell, as a matter of honor, sought to prove that his arm does work. To do this, he needed to enlist the help of his wife, Italia Ricci, on date night of all nights.

Look, there is so much wrong with the world right now. At times it can feel overwhelming and as though there is no hope. Then you see something like this, an extremely likable and self-aware dude setting the record straight with the help of his loving, pregnant wife in a way that makes you wish he’d make more movies so you can support his box-office rake.

Positively inspiring and feel-good stuff.

Free idea for those in the biz: a documentary series in which poor sporting performances are cleaned up by those who struggled to be believable on film. Potential subjects include the dad from Field of Dreams, and Summer Catch‘s Freddie Prinze Jr.