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Starring Drew Barrymore, David Arquete, et al. Released to DVD on October 26, 1999. ![[Photo]](/photos/neverbeenkissed.jpg) If there is one genre for which I have a soft spot in my heart, it is that of the cheesy '80's movies; movies like 16 Candles, Just One of the Guys, License to Drive and Adventures in Babysitting. The aforementioned films weren't much of a creative stretch for a screenwriter or a dramatic turn for any of the pre-heroin Corey's starring in them, but, simply, entertainingly warm and fuzzy movies. Politics, the threat of nuclear war and Communism did not interfere with the plot lines of these movies. It wasn't that the characters were necessarily clueless, these elements just didn't exist in the utopian Pleasantville settings the screenwriters and directors had created. With its good-hearted leads and enjoyable naivete, Never Been Kissed harks back to that golden age of comedy. A phenomenally out-of-it Drew Barrymore stars as Josie Gellar, the youngest copy editor for the Chicago Sun Times. Josie is content with her editing position, but yearns to join the legion of undercover reporters working for the Sun Times. Her wish comes true when she is assigned to register at a suburban high school to do an investigative piece on high-schoolers. Her elation is quickly diffused as her younger and definitively more popular brother, Rob (David Arquette), asks her if she remembers her own experiences in high school where she was treated as the biggest loser on the planet, which, for the record, she was. Josie's experiences at her 'new' high school are better than she had during her real high school career, but, still, she finds herself at the mercy of the 'cool' kids, constantly being taunted with the timeless nickname of "Alpo". However, when Rob takes it upon himself to register for classes, Josie's fate suddenly changes. Written by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, Never Been Kissed was a lite wonder. The storyline was multi-faceted and Raja Gosnell's style of direction kept this film flowing smoothly. However, the real key to Never Been Kissed's success was Barrymore, who served as the movie's executive producer as well. As Never Been Kissed opens, we are greeted with beautiful views of downtown Chicago and the woman we think to be Barrymore; she is blonde, with a well-styled haircut and fashionable suit. Wrong. The real Barrymore is walking behind the blonde woman, with her dirty blonde hair coiffed in a most unattractive manner, sporting a suit that was dated and out of style in 1985; Alpo seemed almost kind. Despite this turn for the nerd though, Barrymore's charm still comes through, endearing her character to the viewer. And, as Anthony Michael Hall knew, being the loveable geek, was a good thing. The supporting roles of Never Been Kissed were well cast, with Molly Shannon (SNL's Mary Katherine Gallagher) and Leelee Sobieski delivering performances that matched well with the warm and cute nature of the film. This wasn't a moving experience and didn't send a real message that enabled me to learn something about society, this was just plain, goofy fun. Of the two the undercover, Chicago newspaper reporter movies, see Never Been Kissed.
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![[Photo]](/photos/neverbeenkissed2.jpg)
Barrymore was introduced to America in Steven Spielberg's moderately successful, 1982 film, E.T. At the time, the young Barrymore was hailed as America's newest sweetheart. Cute, cuddly and compassionate towards weird looking aliens, Barrymore had captured the hearts of movie goers across the country. Then, as she grew out of her child star status, Barrymore, like most of the members of the Brat Pack, turned to heroin and other drugs that allowed her to converse with Hans Christian Anderson and other long since deceased authors. From 1986 to 1991, Barrymore was in and out of different rehab centers, before she finally came clean. Since her return to feature films during the early-'90's-somewhere around the time she flashed David Letterman-Barrymore has worked quite hard to create a surprisingly successful portfolio of motion pictures that she has either acted in or produced. Her intensity for her roles and willingness to put her own silky smooth image on the line to play a total idiot here in Never Been Kissed was quite obvious and the final product of Gosnell's film was greatly benefitted from Barrymore's selflessness.