The Main Cast
Drew Barrymore - Josie
David Arquette - Rob
Michael Vartan - Sam
Molly Shannon - Anita
John Reilly - Gus
Jeremy Jordan - Guy
Jessica Alba - Kirsten
Marley Shelton - Kristen
Josie Gellar is 25 years-old and works at the Chicago Sun Times as a copy editor. For as long as she can remember she had a dream of becoming a journalist, but she's having trouble convincing her boss that she's up to the challenge. Things begin to turn around for the better when the editor-in-chief decides that Josie is going to be an undercover reporter. Her first assignment is to enroll in high school as a senior and find an interesting story relating to the lives of teenagers. Although the thought of returning to high school would cause most adults to shudder, Josie is overjoyed at the thought of having a second chance at re-living her teenage years.
Growing up, Josie did not fit in. She was constantly tormented by her peers because of her appearance and passion for education. What Josie wanted more than anything in the world was to be popular, and to be asked to the prom by her long-time crush Billy Prince. During English class, she writes a poem about him and recites it to the entire class. This bold display of affection results in Billy asking her to prom. After getting all glammed up and wearing an, er . . . interesting dress, Josie waits outside of her house for her date. She sees a black limo pull up, and proceeds to get eggs thrown at her from Billy and his real date. It turns out that it was all a cruel joke, and Josie would not be going to the prom after all.
On the first day at her new high school, South Glen South, Josie gets off to a rough start immediately. She wears white jeans and a feather boa under the impression that it was stylish, and tells her entire class that her parents are sheep farmers. Needless to say, Josie finds herself struggling with the same things she did as a teenager.
After a few weeks, Josie's older brother enrolls in high school along side her in hopes that he will obtain a baseball scholarship while helping her achieve popularity. With his guidance, Josie becomes the most popular girl in school and is asked to prom by Guy Perkins. At the prom Josie realizes that life on the other side was not all that it was cracked up to be. "Find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it," is a line she tells the entire senior class at prom.
On Josie's path to discovery she finds herself falling in love for the first time. This is where the title of the movie, "Never Been Kissed", comes in to play. Josie Gellar has never had a real kiss before.
Josie says, "I've kissed a guy, but I've never felt that thing. That moment, when you kiss someone and everything around you becomes hazy and the only thing in focus is you and this person. And you realize that that person is the only person that you're supposed to kiss for the rest of your life, and for one moment you get this amazing gift and you want to laugh and you want to cry because you feel so lucky that you found it and so scared that that it will go away all at the same time."
Opinion
Drew Barrymore was unbelievable in this movie. Her character was completely humiliating yet lovable, which made her various struggles painful to watch. I loved her awkwardness and sincerity. Jessica Alba, on the other hand, was horrible and her attempts at acting were pathetic. I'm going to cut her some slack by blaming it on her youth, but she was truly annoying to watch. She overplayed her character, and made her ditziness farfetched. Nobody is that stupid.
Although Drew Barrymore's acting was fantastic, her facial expressions were not. She would constantly bite her lip with her two front teeth as if she was a beaver, or had buck teeth. It was entertaining the first few times, but it annoyed me after a while.
By looking at the title you can safely make the assumption that Josie will finally have her first real kiss. The romance that sparks between her and her English teacher, Sam, is not only scandalous but makes the audience green with envy. Sam is beyond good looking, and has qualities that any woman would be lucky to have in a man. Watching the two of them together couldn't be more perfect.
I think it's safe to say that at one point or another everyone has felt like an outcast, and it's comforting to watch Drew Barrymore realize that what she wanted all along wasn't to be popular; it was to have enough confidence to believe in herself. She achieved everything she ever wanted because of this confidence and I can only hope that people will try and follow her example. Sure, Never Been Kissed may just be a movie, but underneath it all lays a great message and the ability to relate to each viewer.
Never Been Kissed is one of my favorite movies that Drew Barrymore has been in, which says a lot. I would rate it 4.5/5, and the rating is PG-13.
To end this article I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the movie.
Guy Perkins: Hi, I'm Guy.
Josie Geller: Yes, you are a guy. Quite a guy. Oh my. Hey, that rhymes! Yikes. Bikes!
Guy Perkins: Are you in special-ed?
~ntwt
