Never Been Kissed

Never Been Kissed

Never Been Kissed
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DVD details

Actor: David Arquette, Drew Barrymore, Leelee Sobieski, Michael Vartan, Molly Shannon
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 108 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-10-26
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox

DVD Reviews of Never Been Kissed

DVD Review: Satirical comedy settles for cliches
Summary: 2 Stars

Josie Geller [Drew Barrymore] is the youngest copywriter with her own office at The Chicago Sun-Times. Gawky, clumsy and dressed in clothes that look like they came from the Salvation Army store, she is one of Hollywood's favorite characters - the goofy but lovable nerd. She wants to be an investigative reporter, but her colleagues tell her it takes guts and courage to be one. One day, the newspaper's tyrannical editor announces he wants an expose of high school life, and he gives clueless Josie the job. The first of her dreams has come true.

So far, so good. Never Been Kissed starts off like it is headed towards being a nifty satirical comedy. It is, until Josie walks through the doors of the high school. Then it comes dangerously close to becoming just another stock teenage comedy. The students and teachers she meets are all interchangeable with characters you see in almost every other isn't-high school-a-drag-but-don't-you-just-love-it-anyway movie. There are the two dream boats - one a student, the other a teacher. We have the blonde girls of the drop dead [gorgeous] club, the jocks without brains, and the nerds without a clue. And, of course, the apex of life before twenty - The Prom. [I should admit here that I went to an all boys' school, so there was no prom. Instead, we had a party that lasted from junior year until well into college. Worked for me!]

I am fond of Drew Barrymore, who co-produced this movie. Some critics have said her talents are worthy of her illustrious theatrical family. They may be right, but it's time for Drew to get past the ingenue roles. Besides, this is the second time in three years she has played a Cinderella. She did the far superior Everafter in 1997. It is too predictable to her going from an ugly duckling to a swan, as she does in Never Been Kissed, since she is one of the more beautiful women in movies today. She is hysterically funny before her makeover is complete. She is blithely unaware that she has bad hair, bad clothes and bad timing. She trips over things, and she walks into doors. Had she been in a movie where she stayed this way, I am sure the reviews would have been glowing, because she played against type. But this is a fairy tale, so she must be transformed. In the process, the whole premise of the journalistic expose falls by the wayside.

There are enough bits and pieces of old songs played in this movie to fill at least two CDs. This trend is becoming tiresome, because it is so blatantly commercial. The movie studio and the recording company are usually owned by the same conglomerate these days. They call it synergy, and, indeed, in some cases, the soundtrack makes more money than the movie. Still, the process is rarely a creative one, and I lately have begun to cringe when the newest credit line - Music Supervisors - comes on. What exactly is it that these supervisors get paid for? To get the most Oldies but Goodies for the least amount of money? Is it a full time profession? Will an Oscar be created for it?

Never Been Kissed had the talent behind it to stand well above the others, but this same talent chickened out and opted for the old tried and true. It's a case where sorry might have been better than safe.

More Never Been Kissed reviews:
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Description of Never Been Kissed

Let's get this straight: Drew Barrymore started a production company to develop original scripts outside of Hollywood and the first project she chose to produce was this, a romantic comedy written by USC grads Abby Kohn and Mark Silverstein about a nerdy, virginal woman who returns to high school as an undercover reporter, finally gets to be popular, and falls in love. And Barrymore decided, as producer, that the perfect actress to play this virtuous, clean-cut, and downright annoying geek would be... Drew Barrymore? It's hard to believe that after The Wedding Singer Barrymore's not getting enough dopey, formulaic, predictable romantic comedies coming across her desk. The complete inability to buy Barrymore as unattractive, awkward, and unpopular ruins Never Been Kissed from the start, but it's doubtful a better actress could have saved it. The jokes fall flat, the romance between Barrymore and her English teacher (played by Michael Vartan) lacks chemistry, and the portrayals of high school and the newspaper newsroom is clichéd and uninspired (big surprise here: the director, Raja Gosnell, previously made Home Alone 3). Gosnell can't even give the gifted character actor, John C. Reilly, anything to do. Only David Arquette, who plays Barrymore's out-of-control brother, brings any energy to the film. --Dave McCoy
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