Never Been Kissed

"Some things are worth waiting for."

1999 1h 47m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🥫

56%

ROTTEN

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 1,629🥫56%Rotten Tomatoes●60Metacritic★6IMDB · 101,798

RomanceComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Some things are worth waiting for.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Disney PlusSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Drew Barrymore
Josie Geller
David Arquette
Rob Geller
Molly Shannon
Anita
Michael Vartan
Sam Coulson
Jessica Alba
Kirsten
John C. Reilly
Gus Strauss
James Franco
Jason
Octavia Spencer
Cynthia

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Raja Gosnell
Writers: Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein, Jenny Bicks
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.4× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Raja Gosnell, shot by Alex Nepomniaschy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by David Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Debra Chiate shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Drew Barrymore and David Arquette and Molly Shannon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Some things are worth waiting for.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0151738 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Raja Gosnell directs. Alex Nepomniaschy behind the camera. David Newman scores. Debra Chiate cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.4× over at the box office.
227 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Raja Gosnell, shot by Alex Nepomniaschy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by David Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Debra Chiate shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Drew Barrymore and David Arquette and Molly Shannon carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Some things are worth waiting for.".
8IMDB entry: tt0151738 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 16 themes, including "chicago, illinois", "high school", "newspaper", "journalist".

The technical file

Cinematography: Alex Nepomniaschy
Original score: David Newman
Editing: Debra Chiate
Makeup / hair: Barbara Olvera
VFX supervisor: Rich Thorne
Stunt coordinator: Joni Avery
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $84,565,230
Return: 338% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Never Been Kissed (1999)
Rotten Tomatoes: 56% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 60/100
IMDB rating: 6/10 · 101,798 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

2 wins & 8 nominations total

Also by

Raja Gosnell

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-08-15
★ 7/10
Don't worry baby, Everything will turn out alright Never Been Kissed sees Drew Barrymore's copy editor, Josie Geller, yearn to be a reporter. Something that comes her way when by way of a fluke, she's selected for an undercover mission at High School. Trouble is, is that she's got to be 17 again, and that's something that brings back all of those horrible moments from her high school days. The time of having no friends, the butt of the jokes and ignored by the boys (all told in cringe inducing flashbacks). Cue much fun as the 25 year old Josie not only tries to bluff everyone that she's 17, but tries to fit in with the youth who have considerably changed from back in her days. Enter cool as ice brother Rob (David Arquette) who decides to lend a helping hand, with some funny and excellently scripted results. Not only this but we of course have the obligatory love interest, only this is a kicker as it concerns Josie's teacher Sam (a sickeningly handsome Michael Vartan). Cue Sam on mind overload as his feelings lead him onto what he thinks is morally dubious ground... It's as frothy as can be is this one, perhaps in the running for the 90s most chickiest ckick flick? But, and I say this as a middle aged guy, the jokes are spot on, it's endearing as heck and it boasts a quite marvellous turn from Barrymore. It's the sort of performance that could light up the most turgid of comedy movies. It's a threefold character portrayal of some depth and no little charm. She's well supported by the always likable Arquette, while notable turns also come from John C Reilly, the ever reliable Molly Shannon and Leelee Sobieski. While the sharp eyed will spot future Green Goblin James Franco and Susan Storm herself, Jessica Alba, nestling in amongst the teen performers. Nothing remotely new here, but for some genuine laugh out loud comedy moments, a feel good factor soaring through the roof, a kick-ass soundtrack and Barrymore herself, this is more than recommended as a pick me up movie. 7.5/10
Kamurai2020-09-09
★ 7/10
Good watch, could watch again, and can recommend. Look, I have some fairly negative memories of this movie over the years, and I'm not saying it is the best, but for all its flaws, it holds up surprisingly well. The idea of Drew Barrymore (even in 1999) being able to pass for a high school student is nonsense. I'm not that big a fan of hers, but she nails this role even if she's clearly an adult at high school, but what the movie is about, and what she expresses wonderfully is the emotion of being in the traumatic experience of high school when you're not part of the ruling class. I feel like they casted well enough: David Arquette, Molly Shannon, J.C. Reilly, Leelee Sobieski, and Cress Williams (Black Lightning) all do great support roles, and Jessica Alba, Mary Shelton, Jordan Ladd, and all do great antagonist roles. The writing of writing about a story, in a story of one character hiding herself in another story is oddly meta on a few levels, but it remains complex without being overly complicated, is still funny, and has plenty of substance. While I don't imagine I'm going to watch this very often, I'll have to credit my mother: this is worth the watch, even after 20 years.