From Deseret News archives:
Never Been Kissed
Film review
In case you're wondering, that film would be the revisionist Cinderella romance, "Ever After," which was trifling, if charming. But at least it knew what it wanted to be.
"Never Been Kissed" is all over the movie genre map, from romantic comedy to teen comedy to poignant high school drama. And, unfortunately, little of it works.
In fact, the situations are so underdeveloped that the movie seems unfinished. Of course, that might be excusable if the material or performances were even slightly funny.
But they're not, and too often the "Never Been Kissed" tries to get by on Barrymore's charms, instead of wit or belly laughs. As a result, it demonstrates that, despite her sunny presence in "The Wedding Singer," Barrymore is not a comedienne.
She stars as Josie Geller, a hopelessly unhip, twentysomething copy editor for the Chicago Sun-Times who gets a shot at investigative reporting. Josie's editors send her undercover to the local high school, South Glen South, where she's expected to report on the students and teachers.
Fortunately, her slacker brother, Rob (David Arquette), is there to help her out of the jam. He is also posing as a student and quickly persuades the popular kids to give Josie another chance.
But even Rob doesn't have a solution for her big problem, a growing (and seemingly mutual) attraction to her literature teacher (Michael Vartan)
There's an attempt here to tell a decent message (about acceptance), but like everything else, it's treated superficially and dismissed too quickly. Instead, director Raja Gosnell ("Home Alone 3") and first-time screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein go for cheap laughs including a particular vulgar and pointless sex-education scene.
It doesn't help that Barrymore isn't very convincing as a geek. Worse, her attempts at humor most of which consist of lame pratfalls are painfully labored.
Of the cast, only Leelee Sobieski and Arquette fare well, mainly because she's playing it so straight-faced and because he tries so hard to elevate the material.
"Never Been Kissed" is rated PG-13 for crude, sexually based humor and other crass gags, scattered profanities, drug use (a hash brownie), slapstick violence and partial female nudity (a particularly revealing prom outfit).
Recent comments
Blood, violence, dismemberment, evisceration, and of course
human...
sinopa | Dec. 15, 2006 at 8:07 p.m.
Great film. The best sound track of any movie that I have
ever...
JohnnyLock | May 12, 2000 at 6:33 p.m.
Ravenous was the best scary movie i have seen.
It did scare me.
The...
astra | Nov. 15, 1999 at 4:09 p.m.
Cast: Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, Michael Vartan, Leelee Sobieski
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