Never Been Kissed

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em c one of the worst movies out there Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 07/02/25 Full Review Entle S If you’ve ever wanted to relive the worst parts of high school, but with an extra layer of adult awkwardness and questionable ethics, Never Been Kissed is here to haunt your screen for an excruciating 107 minutes. Directed by Raja Gosnell and starring Drew Barrymore, this film somehow manages to be both painfully cheesy and ethically murky — a rom-com that leaves you less in love and more in disbelief. Barrymore plays Josie Geller, a copy editor at the Chicago Sun-Times who goes undercover as a high school student for an investigative story. Sounds quirky? Maybe. But the cringe quickly sets in as Josie — a 25-year-old woman — awkwardly reinserts herself into teenage life. And not just socially; emotionally. It’s like watching someone voluntarily return to the seventh circle of hell, complete with prom queens, Mean Girls knockoffs, and forced slang that already sounded dated in 1999. Let’s talk about the romance. Or rather — the red flag festival. The male love interest (her teacher… yes, you read that correctly) flirts with her while she’s posing as a teenager. Even when the reveal eventually clears things up, it’s still weird enough to warrant a long, quiet sit-down with HR and maybe a therapist. Then there’s the tone. The movie can’t decide if it wants to be a slapstick comedy, a coming-of-age story, or a sugar-coated trauma dump. The result is a Frankenstein’s monster of clichés: glittery prom scenes, bullies with bad haircuts, and dramatic voiceovers that try (and fail) to sound deep. The only thing more painful than Josie’s fashion choices are the lines she’s given. “I’m not Josie Grossie anymore!” she declares, in a moment that’s supposed to be empowering but mostly feels like a deleted scene from Glee. To its credit, Barrymore is charming — even when the script betrays her. You can tell she’s giving it her all, but no amount of earnestness can save this nostalgia-nuked fever dream. Never Been Kissed is like a weird high school reunion where nothing feels real, everything is overacted, and someone definitely should’ve been arrested. If you’re into awkward pacing, moral gray areas, and the kind of dialogue that makes you hide behind a pillow, this one’s for you. Otherwise, save yourself the trauma and rewatch 10 Things I Hate About You instead Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/02/25 Full Review Jonathan S I remembered enjoying this movie watching it decades ago, but when I attempted to watch it again recently, couldn’t understand why. I generally enjoy Drew Barrymore movies, and romcoms, but after about 30 minutes of watching her working too hard to show how awkward she is, and trying to forgive the horrendous hair and styling that accompanied this effort (the obvious trope of ugly duckling transforming into a swan), I found it too much. In all fairness, I stopped watching at this point, but regretted the 30 minutes I had invested. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/04/25 Full Review Mohd Hozair R How to could you not love this romcom. It put Drew as the queen of romcom. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/30/25 Full Review Ryan L Life is stranger than fiction. This story is real. It happened to some of us. Best romcom ever! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/25 Full Review Zamya F Sweet, funny, charming and good casting. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/26/25 Full Review Read all reviews

Never Been Kissed

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