Barrymore Back in the Spotlight;
Shines in Never Been Kissed

Some actors and actresses can point to a single film as a turning point in their careers. For Drew Barrymore, who started off as the adorable daughter in E.T. and fell into hard times and bad movies like Poison Ivy, there is such a movie. Ever since her small cameo in Scream, Barrymore's career has been on an upswing, and it continues in her new romantic comedy Never Been Kissed.

In Never Been Kissed, Barrymore (fresh from last year's The Wedding Singer) plays Josie Geller, a mousy copy editor at The Chicago Sun-Times. While she is apparently a great copy editor, she has dreams of being a reporter. She finally gets her chance when her unconventional boss (played by Garry Marshall) picks her for an undercover assignment. Disguising herself as a 17 year-old, Josie infiltrates a local high school to find out what is happening with kids today.

Now, when I heard the premise of this movie, I was reminded of one of my favorite late-night movies, 1987's Hiding Out with Jon Cryer. Aside from the premise of an older person trying to blend in with kids in high school, the two films are completely different. Whereas Cryer instantaneously became one of the "cool" kids, Josie has trouble fitting in and finds herself befriended by a shy brain named Aldys (Leelee Sobieski). With Aldys and her calculus club friends (the Denominators), Josie begins to relive her days as a high-school nerd.

Her editor, however, is not pleased with her lack of progress, and he demands that she make friends with the "in crowd." With the help of her brother, Rob (David Arquette), Josie begins to break into their inner circle and experience a different side to high school.

The story, however, never gets bogged down by hard journalism. It's a fun story that never takes itself too seriously. Several questions arise under closer scrutiny, but with a romantic comedy one should never look too closely. At it's heart, it's a Cinderella story with a high school setting.

Barrymore gives a fine performance, equally convincing as both the mousy "Josie Grossy" of yesteryear and the confident young woman who emerges by the end of the film. Sobieski is outstanding as Aldys, and reminds me of a young Helen Hunt - not only in her looks, but also in her charm. Arquette is funny, and just right for this role. Also appearing as one of Josie's colleagues at the newspaper is "Saturday Night Live" alum Molly Shannon.

MY RATING: 7 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 100 min.