Never Been Kissed — Movie Review (1999 film)

2 min readSep 13, 2019

Plot

Josie Geller (Drew Barrymore) is a 25-year-old copy editor struggling to become a reporter. She is assigned to do undercover work and pose as a high school student. Things got crazy when Josie fell in love with Professor Sam Coulson (Michael Vartan) who felt inappropriate having a close relationship with Josie Geller (who he thought is 17 years old). Josie’s boss instructed her to befriend the popular kids and make their scoop more “interesting”. Josie has to face her past high school issues, find her true self, and finally have her sweet first kiss. Frequent flashbacks showed Josie was a nerdy misfit in her high school days.

The Teen Flick + Office Girl Movie

Never Been Kissed is a unique movie. It is a combination of a teen flick (high school issues, cliques, geeks, heartthrobs, popularity and fitting in) and a story about a mid 20’s woman struggling with her career and personal life. The main theme of the movie is overcoming your past self. The ghost of Josie’s past haunts her present and if she does not face them now, it will affect her future and getting the job done.

Drew Barrymore did a good performance acting out a teenager and a mid-20’s woman. During her “high school scenes,” you’ll forget it’s Drew acting and feels like watching a real teen actress portraying a role.

Verdict

For what it is, Never Been Kissed is an ok movie but far from being a classic. It is unique and has heart compared to most chick flicks; however, it lacks memorable moments and dialogue that would entertain and stick to the viewer’s mind after watching the film. The movie is forgettable and bland. The story was very good and casting Drew was an excellent choice but they relied on star power to make up for the mindless dialogue. There is actually a good movie hiding inside it; something that was never brought out. With that, I recommend a re-make and I sure hope Tina Fey will be involved.

Jays Ratings — 50%

Rotten Tomatoes — 55%

Metascore — 60

IMDB — 6 out of 10

Financials

Budget$25 million with Box office $84.5 million

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Jays Geronca is a dancer, film and tv critic, podcaster, and fiction writer. You can follow him at:

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