• Genres: Comedy, Romance
• Tagline: The Class Clown Just Turned Chic.
• Plot Outline A journalist enrolls in her old highschool as part of her research for a story.
• Plot Synopsis: Josie Geller, at 25 the youngest Chicago Sun-Times copy editor, really is good at her job, which requires brain more than writing skills. The owner of the paper now wants her and no other to report undercover about today’s high schools. Josie enrolls and quickly falls back into her own school habits: She was then known as Josie Grossie, she did not make any friends, she even was humiliated. Now, with a good job in her life and with her experiences from a life after school, she tries to fit in as well as possible. Having to seek friendship with some pretty but not very bright girls instead of with the people who really interest her gets really hard for Josie, but her job is at stake, if there is no gripping cover story soon. Falling for a teacher whom she is ordered to shred to pieces in her article, Josie is confronted with her greatest conflict - but also with the chance to undo mistakes she did in her own school days.
• Plot Keywords: Teen Movie | Chicago Illinois | Pygmalion | School Life | Newspaper | Affection | High School Teacher | Nerd | Double Life | Editor | First Love
• Actors: Drew Barrymore, Michael Vartan, David Arquette, Molly Shannon, Leelee Sobieski
• Directors: Raja Gosnell
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: January 14, 2003
• Run Time: 108 minutes
• ASIN: B00006ZXSL
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,602 in DVD

Editorial Reviews

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

Product Description

In this hilarious, heartwarming comedy, Drew Barrymore shines as a budding journalist who’s determined to go from ‘geek’ to ‘chic’ when she is sent back to high school on her first undercover assignment to lern about today’s teens. At first, Josie is thrilled with the opportunity until she remembers her nickname from years ago: “Josie Grossie!” Can a former clueless nerd navigate the hallways of high school without trippin over her own feet?