NEVER BEEN KISSED
** (out of 4) - a fair movie
Release Date: April 9, 1999 Starring: Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, Michael Vartan, Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly, Garry Marshall, Octavia Spencer Directed by: Raja Gosnell Distributed by: 20th Century Fox Films Corp. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (sex-related material, some drug content)
"Do you wish you could be 18 again?"
If you've ever asked this question to someone of considerable age, you undoubtedly know the answer is something like, "Not unless I could have the knowledge I do now." And indeed, there's a certain naïveté about the teenage years that befits the young but baffles the elderly. This philosophical fountain of youth is pondered in the lyrics of songs and countless movies, but most recently it's given a home in the flighty Raja Gosnell romance NEVER BEEN KISSED.
Gosnell (HOME ALONE 3)'s story is also a foray into the fish-out-of-water theme, which posits a character in unfamiliar settings and exploits the implied, resultant humor. In this case, Chicago Sun-Times copy editor Josie Gellar (Drew Barrymore) is chosen to write an undercover piece on today's high schoolers. Unfortunately, in her first go at it, Josie was a real geek -- worse than Paul on "The Wonder Years." To the rescue comes her brother Rob (David Arquette), who proves the little-known truth that it only takes one person to think you're cool to be "in." Soon Josie is in the running for prom queen and the romantic interest of stud English teacher Sam Coulson (Michael Vartan).
Throughout this story the movie attempts to juggle several different ideas before dropping them all in favor of a predictable and disappointing ending. The first of these themes is Josie's inadaquate character for the job of undercover reporting -- she's a control freak copy editor, accustomed to correcting people's grammar and not sliding into hip-and-trendy MTV-era high school. This idea gets dropped in favor of the second one, which is the inevitable humiliation that will occur when Josie attends high school. The third subplot, which is unfinished and consequently unsuccessful, is the romantic possibility between Josie and her English teacher Coulson; the resolution to this plot does not make sense. And finally, the fourth facet of the script is Rob's minor role in Josie's life, as well as his "redemption" in high school. Truly, his story holds interesting potential, but it too is compromised in a quick-and-easy ending.
The cast carries off these different larks in typical and unremarkable fashion. Barrymore gives a lackluster performance here, which is especially disappointing after she had received such high acclaim for her last two romantic pictures (EVER AFTER and THE WEDDING SINGER). She proves here that she's unable to carry a movie which has little support and relies heavily on the lead. In terms of support, both Arquette (SCREAM 2) and Vartan (THE MYTH OF FINGERPRINTS) have too little screentime and not enough to say to make an effective appearance. There is not a standout player among the lot.
In terms of romantic offerings this year, NEVER BEEN KISSED falls below par. There are those who will sympathize with the geekiness of Barrymore's character, but in its own right, the movie paralells its oddity. Nothing ever comes together, and other than a good laugh or two at the expense of others, time and money are best spent elsewhere.
all contents © 1999 Craig Roush
-- Craig Roush kinnopio@execpc.com -- Kinnopio's Movie Reviews http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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