Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Josie Geller, a baby-faced junior copywriter at the Chicago Sun-Times, must pose as a student at her former high school to research contemporary teenage culture. With the help of her brother, Rob, Josie infiltrates the inner circle of the most popular clique on campus. But she hits a major snag in her investigation -- not to mention her own failed love life -- when she falls for her dreamy English teacher, Sam Coulson.
Never Been Kissed is a charming but formulaic late-90s romcom that hits familiar beats — the awkward outsider finding confidence, the forbidden romance, the big redemptive moment. Drew Barrymore is likable and carries the film with warmth, and the supporting cast (including David Arquette) adds energy, but performances rarely transcend the genre's conventions. Cinematography is competent but thoroughly unremarkable TV-movie-adjacent work with no distinctive visual identity. The concept of an adult journalist going undercover in high school had been explored before, and the film doesn't subvert or reinvent its premise in any meaningful way, keeping Novelty low. The ending — Josie waiting on the pitcher's mound for Sam's kiss — is genuinely crowd-pleasing and emotionally effective, a solid payoff even if it's telegraphed from the start.