Never Been Kissed (1999) User Reviews

High School Do Over

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 12 August 2008]

Never Been Kissed gives Drew Barrymore the chance to do something that maybe 70% of us would like to do. Go back to high school and make some necessary corrections. Actually the first time for me was bad enough and at my age I doubt I could pull it off the way Drew does.

Of course the reason could also be that once we leave high school it's like leaving a cocoon and we have to deal with the great big unfriendly world out there. I've known a few in my life who would go back and stay if they could. In fact there is a Law and Order episode which explores the dark side of this same situation. A girl looking young enough to pull it off, goes through high school at least three times and kills the person who stumbles on her secret.

With Drew though it's an assignment. She's a copy editor for the Chicago Sun Times who yearns to be a reporter. Publisher Garry Marshall who plays the part like Donald Trump took over the Sun Times gets this brilliant idea and just sees in Barrymore a young enough looking person to pull off the masquerade.

High School the first time was bad enough. Drew was not the most popular then and she's not doing better the second time around. That is until brother David Arquette also goes back to school and helps her over the rough patches.

Of course this raises a whole lot of issues for Drew, peer pressure from two sources, job and school. What's a girl to do?

Never Been Kissed is a light and charming comedy which to its credit skips over the opportunity to be crassly exploitive and gives us some good entertainment. Drew is very funny and sweet and her performance in moments of stress for her character moves nicely into pathos. Michael Vartan as her English teacher is the kind I wish there were more of in the education field and Leelee Sobieski and Jessica Alba play a pair of the empty headed cool kids that Drew tries so desperately to hook up with.

Still it doesn't inspire me to return to Midwood High School.

Loved it as a teenager, creeped out as an adult

[rachelaemmons · 5/10 · 13 October 2020]

I was a freshman in high school when this movie came out and I LOVED it. Maybe it was because I had a huge crush on my English teacher and this was my way of fantasizing a hot teacher falling for one of his students. My 15 year old self didn't understand how unethical that would have been (not to mention illegal), I just thought it was soooo romantic. Fast forward 20 years to rewatching it with my husband and it was a completely different experience. The premise is still cute and the sad parts are still sad, but I couldn't get past how creepy that teacher was. All she did was read poetry and give smart answers in his class and he was smitten. While my young self got excited every time he gave her gooey eyes, my adult self was shocked that a teacher would act act so inappropriately. If he had been in on the secret, it would have been okay I guess. But all of that with his girlfriend and him getting jealous when she was with other teenagers (also unethical because she was interested in an underaged boy at one point) was just too much for me. I could barely watch it. It could have been a cute movie if it had been written a little bit differently, but wow.

Can so so relate

[TheArgentWolf · 7/10 · 14 June 2005]

Very sadly, I can relate to this movie, as I'm 17, and have yet to be kissed, so I really feel for Josie. It's been a while since seeing this film, but to write this review I re-watched it, and remembered everything I loved about it.

Drew Barrymore is a great actress, and this role suited her really well at the time. The chemistry between Sam and Josie was really good, and Michael Vartan was an excellent actor in this.

I loved the storyline too - as i said up there, I could relate, and it's rare you find a film you can completely relate to.

All over - I loved it. 7/10

A sweet charmer

[wnterstar · 10 July 2004]

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. It was charming, funny, and, at times painful. I, however think it was painful to watch because I had such a hard time at high school, and I could relate to this movie.

It reminded me of "Mean Girls" a lot, although this had a softer edge to it.

It was a bit predictable, but, sometimes a good, sweet, romance with a happy ending is what you want in a movie.

The acting was good, and the story was believable-if a bit far-fetched.

The sound track was awesome!

Ok, but not great.

[Bookends · 6/10 · 7 April 1999]

I was really looking forward to seeing this movie, because the previews made it look hysterical. I was surprised that this is one of the first movies that I have ever seen that doesn't give away the ENTIRE plot in the trailer.

I was glad that I got to see the movie, but I came away feeling that the movie was really inconsistent. It is not up to the standards of some of the other teenage-girl angst flicks (She's all That and 10 things I hate about you come to mind). The heroines in those movies could wipe the floor with any of the characters in Never Been Kissed.

I like Drew Barrymore, I liked this movie...

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 1 June 2010]

Never Been Kissed is not a perfect movie, but I wasn't expecting that. The story is predictable yet simple and the ending is hokey, but I still liked the film. Why did I? Firstly, Drew Barrymore. There may be people who don't like her, I do and I have since seeing her in Ever After(and that was a wonderful film). Here she does what she does best, which is cute and funny romance, the result is that we are treated to a fun and captivating performance. Secondly, David Arquette is a lot of fun as Barrymore's slightly odd older brother, and I also enjoyed Leelee Sobieski's minor turn here. Michael Vartan is charming in his own way as well. The script does have its humorous moments, the film does have a nice feel-good element to it, the direction is fine and the soundtrack is nice. Overall, an enjoyable movie, not a masterpiece, but just a nice bit of fluff. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Lovable Drew makes pathetic character watchable

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 28 September 2013]

Josie Gellar (Drew Barrymore) is a Chicago Sun Times copy editor. She's a stiff perfectionist, and not aggressive enough to be a reporter. That is until the owner arbitrarily assigns Josie as an undercover high school student. Only she was a loser nerd in her high school years, and she returns as a loser nerd in her new undercover work. With the help of her younger drop-out brother Rob Geller (David Arquette), she gets a makeover and infiltrates the popular group.

She is scary nerdy and humiliating. It's really not funny unless we are supposed to laugh at her. Luckily for the movie, Drew Barrymore is impossibly lovable. She makes us love her no matter what, and makes this sad pathetic character somewhat watchable.

What did I just watch??

[jewel78-167-407684 · 1/10 · 14 January 2019]

Were we seriously supposed to think it was super sweet for an adult teacher to fall in love with someone he believed was his 17 year old student??? And don't even get me started on the 27 year old brother dating a 16 year old. How did this movie even get made?

Feel Good Movie

[JANETC-3 · 9/10 · 7 April 2005]

I LOVED this movie. Not as great as "50 First Dates", but it's definitely a repeater, especially on a rainy day or with a group of girlfriends. Yes, the plot was "cute" and maybe even unbelievable, but what's so bad about a feel good movie. Drew as Josie and her romance with the teacher is so sweet and brother baseball wannabee adds to the movie's good feeling. With all the junk out there, what's so bad about a good movie the whole family can enjoy? Without being embarrassed while watching with your kids! Drew is an awesome actress that really seems to be unappreciated for the most part. This is definitely one of her best roles!

Fluffy, Funny, Feel-good

[EllieStar · 7/10 · 15 April 2002]

*POSSIBLE SPOILER*

I have to admit that I am extremely biased when it comes to this film. I happen to think that Micheal Vartan is an extremely talented (okay, extremely sexy) actor, and his portrayal of Mr.Coulson is filled with sensitivity, empathy and understanding. By no means could this possibly fulfil anyone's notion of an excellent film. The plot is thin, the script cliched, and the acting (at times) stretched. However, forgetting all of the above, it is an extremely witty, poignant, easily relatable, confidence-boosting, feel-good film.

Drew Barrymore and Micheal Vartan share an incredible on-screen chemistry and their kiss at the end is one of the cutest.

Sooooooo....

[Brew_Swayne · 1/10 · 19 July 2019]

We just gonna ignore the fact that the teacher was totally going to pursue an intimate relationship with a female student he believed to be a minor?

Love this film!

[wee_linziuk · 10/10 · 6 April 2005]

This is a truly hilarious film and one that I have seen many times. Drew Barrymore is brilliant as Josie Geller, as is David Arquette as her brother. You cringe with embarrassment at the thought of her returning to high school as the film is a reminder of what high school was really like! Her outfits are wacky and weird, and it brings back memories of those who dressed a bit differently! The gorgeous Michael Vartan was adorable as the teacher (wish there had been teachers like that when I was at high school!) and Josie's boss is fantastic. This is a film you could watch again and again, with a fabulous sound track! One for all those at school in the 90's to watch!

A poor comedy, but a cute Barrymore romance

[napierslogs · 6/10 · 24 August 2010]

Josie has never been kissed, she was just an unpopular, ridiculed nerd in high school. But now Josie is 25, working for a newspaper when she gets a chance to go undercover and report on the high school scene. Drew Barrymore stars as Josie, and as usual, she is very cute and charming.

This movie is a comedy, but unfortunately, it's not very funny. They tried to show a clash with the differences between 80s and 90s teenagers, but they did it with very little thought. As a consequence, very little humour came through, mostly coming across as forced and superficial. They did a better job with the "losers" vs. "popular" clash, but that has been way over done in many movies.

Despite their poor attempts at comedy, the movie is saved by Barrymore's heart and the sweet romance. Michael Vartan plays Sam, a high school teacher, who sees all of Josie's potential. Some of which she has already reached, and for the rest, well, you'll just have to watch "Never Been Kissed".

A feel bad movie....

[headly66 · 2/10 · 22 February 2009]

I had nothing to do before going out one night so I didn't want to watch anything too heavy, I picked the perfect film. This must have been a gift to Barrymore from someone she slept with, the director Raja Gosnell has made nothing but silly crap and the writing on this one is just atrocious. In what high school can you register without a parent present and no proof of age or former schooling? They let kids all come to the prom with no shirts, in skin tight leotards, ass shorts and one girl was dressed as Eve wearing only fig leaves? She announces that she's 25 and her brother is 23 but there is no reprisal from the school, parents or lawsuits of any kind against the newspaper for fraud or spying? The newspaper boss wants to catch the teacher in an underage sex scandal but doesn't realize the teacher is coming on to a 25 year old so any case would be entrapment? They allow a camera in and record peoples private conversations with under age kids? I wonder if I hired my younger sister to go back to HS with a camera on her and filmed under age girls for my personnel use I would not get in some kind of trouble??? NAHHHH No problem. Didn't she have to take gym or go to the bathroom at some point? The secondary characters in this were like cardboard cutouts of what high school students are thought to be and everybody was a stereotype. Jessica Alba is just embarrassingly bad in this mugging for the camera at every chance. In what world do the parents not get suspicious when their uber-geeky daughter is miraculously asked out by the school stud to the prom? And they don't ask the guy inside to meet him like every other parent in history. If some guy in my school or any other school for that matter had conned my sister and thrown eggs at her in her prom dress he would have been in a body cast for the rest of his life. This movie is so contrived and predictable it's nauseating, and why at the end is everybody (the Alpo girls included) cheering for this chick when two days before they hated her????

DUMB, DUMB AND DUMB.

Can't hate anything with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Alba in the cast list...

[Victor Field · 11 June 2001]

The nice thing about Drew Barrymore - or, to paraphrase the late Douglas Adams, ONE of the nice things for there are several - is that she's willing to try almost anything from "Guncrazy" to "Ever After" (although I suspect she would draw the line at "Bad Girls 2"). In this appealing though predictable teen flick, she's an eager writer for a newspaper given a chance to prove she can do more by going undercover to see what today's teens are up to in high school, and finds that nothing's really changed.

Drew is as engaging as ever whether appearing in class way too overdressed or dancing on stage while on drugs (relax, the film's overall pretty inoffensive), and it may have been prophetic that her joke about having been named Josie after the leader of a cartoon rock band goes over the head of her best friend at school (the film version of "Josie and the Pussycats" was a box office flop in America). The movie isn't exactly surprising, and won't appeal to anyone who insists on teen films having acid in their veins - but then again, the edgier "Jawbreaker" wasn't just bad-spirited, it was BAD, period. Call me soppy, but I like a happy ending, and this does have one (even The Prettiest Girls In School don't turn out to be that horrid in the end).

If only the Seekers' "Free To Be You And Me" (which Drew and her friends sing along to in a car in one scene) and some of David Newman's sweet score had been on the soundtrack album, but that's not a problem exclusive to this film; what with this and "Charlie's Angels" (not to mention "Olive, the Other Reindeer") Barrymore's record as a producer is a lot better than, say, Michelle Pfeiffer's. And as I said in the summary, you get Drew Barrymore and Jessica Alba in the same movie (this is a Twentieth Century Fox movie in more ways than one).

This generation is hopeless...

[m-47826 · 6/10 · 6 August 2022]

People who see pedophilia in this very cheesy and harmless movie, I mean! It's crazy how devoid of analytical mind they can be. Do they think it makes them smart being outraged for one misplaced word or expression?! What a bunch of sorry judgemental trolls! The professor had his suspicions about her, from the start. He even asked her if she really was seventeen. And didn't act inappropriate with her. So did all the other older characters, who knew they were on thin ice in this situation. Which made the movie funnier. As far as I'm concerned, I used to think it was hysterical. But only because I mostly remembered the funnier parts. Now I see it as a crazy corny romantic comedy, with characters that are a tad stereotypical and not very like able. Even the heroine couldn't escape making bad choices and errors of judgment. But it makes them real and easy to relate to. It gets very dramatic with the whole bullying subplot, but hey. Back then people were not as sheltered, or victimized, and learned to overcome the complications of life, at such a young age. So for that reason only, this movie is a nice wake up call. And frankly, it's entertaining, fun, funny and cute, with a soundtrack that emphasized yet again another ideal late 90s playlist.

I wish I'd watched it 4 years ago.

[Liquid-Snake · 6/10 · 19 May 2003]

I'm not a fan of teen "comedies" but this was on ITV at the weekend so I thought I'd give it a go. I didn't know much about the film except that Drew Barrymore (I'm not a big fan) was in it and what genre it was classed in.

*SPOILERS*

About an hour into the film, I considered switching off because the plot was too outrageous and the characters so 2-D and typically American, but I watched it through and although the ending was a bit too over the top and predictable, I found Drew's speech about high school never changing hit the mark. It was true for me particularly as it is my last week at college - that's UK college, like high-school in the US - and I saw her stereotypes of school. It made me realise I wasn't gonna be in school any longer (sniff) and that school is probably the best time in life.

Personal thoughts aside, this isn't as good as She's All That but fun to watch anyway. 6/10.

Really good movie

[atinder · 7/10 · 7 February 2010]

Josie is a reporter from a newspaper is set a task to go back to high school as she is going to be 17 again. .

As she is there, she remembers some really awful stuff thats happened to her the first time she was in Highschool as we see in flashback scenes.

In the flashback they show that (little spoiler) Josie was kind of a nerd in high school and was picked on a lot and one day the cool guy tells her that he is taking her to the prom, only on the prom night as she leaves her house she gets egged by the ass hole and his bitch. what a horrible thing to do (some will find this hard to watch as it so nasty and it will make you feel warmer to Josie).

I did not find this movie that funny but there was some really funny stuff in the office scenes a lot more funnier then anything that happened in the school.

This movie did have the perfect happy ending, as it did bring tears to my mum and sister eyes. The acting in this movie was not outstanding, it was good for the most part of the movie, there is some poor acting in some parts of the movie.

I going to give this movie 7 out 10.

Awe-inspiringly bad

[Boyo-2 · 1/10 · 2 August 2000]

I couldn't even begin to talk about all the things wrong with this movie. The movie is a waste of talent and film and time. Drew is totally unbelievable in the lead and no one else fares any better. I had wanted to see Leelee and I liked Michael Vartan in "To Wong Foo" so I was curious to see what this movie would be like, but boy was I sorry I bothered.

Under-rated Barrymore Love Story

[FiendishDramaturgy · 8/10 · 11 April 2007]

I can't say that I embrace this as a Romantic Comedy, as I found little funny about it. I did find it endearing, entertaining, heartwarming, and terminally sweet, and while there were some witty moments, I found them more bittersweet than outright comedic.

I liked this one. Barrymore has grown so much as an actress, and it's always wonderful to catch her on the big screen, but this translates well to the small screen, too. In fact, on subsequent viewings, I like this one more and more.

If you're a fan of the Romantic Comedy, then you may be a bit put off by lack of comedic effect with this one, but if you're in it for the romance, it's definitely here to be found.

It rates a 7.8/10 from...

the Fiend :.

For Drew Barrymore fans

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 8 June 2000]

A VERY predictable story (girl who was an ugly duckling goes back to high school undercover years later, meets and falls in love with her high school sweetheart...) done pretty well. You're always two steps ahead of the plot, but it's pretty well-acted (with the sole exception of David Arquette--God, is he annoying) and never really dull. But it's a great movie if you're a Drew Barrymore fan (like me). She gives out a terrific performance and makes her character warm and believable. My only big complaint is the ending. The movie should have wrapped up everything at the prom--the ending at Shea Stadium was VERY anticlimatic. That aside though, I enjoyed it.

A newspaper copy editor becomes prom queen.

[michaelRokeefe · 5/10 · 12 June 2000]

This is a very predictable little story; but the finale is the most romantic I've seen in a while. A 25 year old copy editor for a Chicago paper gets her first assignment as an undercover reporter. She ethically blows her own cover, ruining her story; but turns in an alternate story about her real experiences in high school.

I did not go out of my way to see this; but since I love Drew Barrymore, I couldn't totally pass it up. Without Barrymore this would not make the grade. Silly plot, but interesting sub-plots. The finale brings about a big happy sigh.

The other cast members include: David Arquette, LeeLee Sobieski, Molly Shannon, Michael Vartan and Garry Marshall.

You Go Drew!!!

[lollybomb · 8/10 · 9 June 2000]

I think this movie more than any other shows what a great actress Drew Barrymore is because she plays a ugly duckling in high school which is something I never imagined her being. A great flick with lots of laughs . I don't usually go for those feel good movies but I really enjoyed this one.

I adore this movie but it is creepy

[aliholly-62819 · 7/10 · 14 February 2022]

This is a sweet romantic comedy. The premise is a woman goes uncover as a high school student to experience what life is like for the modern day teenager. She's supposed to be 17 and throughout the film she gets really close to her teacher.

The audience is supposed to think this is ok evidently. After all, she's not really 17, she's 25, so no harm done, right? The teacher, however, doesn't know she's not 17!

I first watched this when I was a teenager, and when you're a teen the idea of being with a mature and good looking guy seems great! Then I watched this as an adult and thought UMMMM it's bit creepy. This movie takes place in Illinois where the age of consent is actually 16 (not sure if this was the case in 1999). Even still Michael Vartan (the teacher) looks like he's 35 and even as I've gotten older, I'm 32 now, he STILL looks like he's 35 in this movie. It just comes across as inappropriate no matter how you twist it. I don't care what the law says the age of consent is.

You'd think that'd be a dealbreaker but I guess nostalgia wins in the end because I still like this movie. It's so 90's, encroaching on early 2000's, and it reminds me of a happier and simpler time. Fun music, cute and over the top characters, and it's got heart.

You've GOT to be kidding!

[tgjenn · 1/10 · 4 September 2000]

OK, I have seen "fluff" before, but this REALLY takes the cake. The story depicts a 25-year-old news reporter who must relive the horrors of her teen years as she is required to go undercover as a high school teen. So, once again she must go through the insecurities of trying too hard to fit in. Excuse me??? What 25-year-old is going to stress over whether she fits in with a crowd at least eight years younger than she? To top it off, her brother, also an adult, decides to do the same. While trying not to offer any spoilers, I will say that the storyline and ending is way too predictable. My only reason for seeing this is because I am a fan of Drew Barrymore, but I feel it was a waste of both her talent and that of Leelee Sobieski to stick them in such a story. I would suggest seeing this only if you are fans of any of the actors in this movie; otherwise, it is not worth your time.