Never Been Kissed (1999)
Directed by Raja Gosnell
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.
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What critics compared Never Been Kissed to
The 1999 Drew Barrymore romcom “Never Been Kissed” is referenced multiple times in “Words on Bathroom Walls,” with the older film cast in a rosy Proustian glow that may come as a jolt to any viewers who remember the 20th century.
While the Never Been Kissed references and patriarchal quips are a bit stilted, the fashion in which Maya’s home life is revealed is very effective.
He keeps his condition a secret from her (and as it turns out, she’s keeping mum about some things, too), but inevitably their feelings for one another deepen and real romance is in the air—though one might question the wisdom of having the lovebirds bond over a shared reverence for Drew Barrymore’s 1999 romcom “Never Been Kissed,” even if it’s intended as a joke.
If it continues to hit some cheesy beats (Maya is a feminism-spouting valedictorian but she secretly loves Never Been Kissed and is itching to be invited to prom), there's undeniable sweetness as a secretive and cynical pair of teens come nervously together.
Yes, Plummer and Russell are a cute, screwball-esque, cine-literate couple (they bond over Drew Barrymore rom-com Never Been Kissed and Adam likes to draw comparisons between his life and Will Hunting’s) a la those featured in The Fault in Our Stars , Five Feet Apart and the like, but there are complications to their lives that these kind of movies don’t always explore.
Tutoring turns into something more as the two young leads have great chemistry and would make fine partners in a romantic comedy — territory “Words” veers into when Adam discovers that his super-serious classmate’s favorite movie is “Never Been Kissed.”
There is a distinct Never Been Kissed vibe toward the end, a nod to 10 Things, and a little bit of a John Hughes-ian dramatic infusion around Simon’s come-out, but it never feels like it’s ripping off any other movie.
There’s a pretty simple reading of the new Amy Schumer movie from writer-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (the writing duo behind “Never Been Kissed” and “He’s Just Not That Into You”) because every headline focuses on Amy Schumer, the stand-up comic turned Emmy-winning sketch comedy force (“Inside Amy Schumer”) who teamed up with Judd Apatow for her feature film breakout (“Trainwreck”).
I Feel Pretty, written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silversteen (the team behind the movies Never Been Kissed and How to Be Single) has a lot to unpack, including themes of body image, self-esteem and self-confidence, dating and relationships, appearances, the messages of advertising and the importance of friends.
Although making their co-directorial debut behind the camera, a look at their screenplay filmography is sufficient to create a sense of trepidation: Never Been Kissed , He’s Just Not That Into You , Valentine’s Day , The Vow , How to Be Single .
Then there’s the standard makeover theme you’ll remember from Working Girl, Miss Congeniality, or another Kohn-Silverstein project, Never Been Kissed.
It’s written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, the creative team behind the sweet and underrated tearjerker The Vow and most notably for the goofy gem Never Been Kissed.
But screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, the minds behind scripts for films like Never Been Kissed, The Vow and How to Be Single making their feature-length directorial debut, can’t seem to get beyond sitcom platitudes.
Other stories, including 21 Jump Street (2012) and Never Been Kissed (1999), involve adults who try to pass as teenagers.
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Shades of 1999's " Never Been Kissed " follow as the guys get to relive their teen experiences with starkly different results, realizing along the way that they have grown into better people no longer chained to the scars of their adolescence.
High school cult classics like Sixteen Candles , Mean Girls , Grease , Never Been Kissed and so many others are fan favorites, but the goal is all the same: to get the unpopular girl with the hunky A-list senior.
Inside Booksmart ’s Type-A protagonist Molly (Beanie Feldstein) beats the savage heart of Election ’s Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), while her dreamy, sensitive best friend Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) isn’t so far from Aldys (Leelee Sobieski), the tender weirdo from Never Been Kissed .
Kohn and Silverstein’s breakthrough script was the charming Never Been Kissed (1999), which Barrymore starred in and also exec-produced.
The screenplay for How to Be Single — based on the novel by former Sex and the City writer Liz Tuccillo, who also co-wrote the book He’s Just Not That Into You — was co-written by Dana Fox (Couples Retreat) and Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, the same duo who wrote Never Been Kissed and, yes, the movie version of He’s Just Not That Into You.
Writers Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein ("Never Been Kissed") don't flatter their target market by making the female characters flawless princesses and all the men toads.
The screenplay, by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (the duo behind “Never Been Kissed,” finally getting work again), is full of people waxing philosophical about love, dating, and marriage, but very little of what they say is clever or funny.
Neither the director of the vomitable License to Wed (2007), nor the screenwriters (Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein) of Never Been Kissed (1999), nor the largely B-list cast exactly engendered keen anticipation.
Instead, director Ken Kwapis (2007's " License to Wed ") and screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (1999's " Never Been Kissed ") treat both sexes with an equal fair hand.
Directed by Ken Kwapis (“License to Wed,” “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”) and adapted by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (“Never Been Kissed”) from the book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, “He’s Just Not That Into You” begins with a poop joke and that pretty much says it all.
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Unfortunately, he's dealing with a director (Raja Gosnell of "Never Been Kissed") whose idea of comedy is to play things as loudly and frantically as possible; he also encourages Lawrence's worst tendencies.
And surely the concept of a man in drag in search of himself is not news, here refitted by writers Darryl Quarles (Soldier Boyz) and Don Rhymer and director Raja Gosnell (Never Been Kissed, Home Alone 3) into a series of mostly unrelated scenes that showcase Lawrence's comedic flexibility and charisma.
Director Raja Gosnell ("Never Been Kissed") obviously knows how to move his scenes along, and he keeps the film engaging by distracting you from it's weaker points.
As directed by Raja Gosnell (also responsible for the grating "Never Been Kissed" and "Home Alone 3"), Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer's formulaic script is most amusing when the hook is pushed to the extreme, such as when the fake Big Momma kicks butt in a women's self-defense class or hangs on the rim after stuffing a basketball in a street pick-up game.
Big Momma's House is directed by Raja Gosnell, who took a similar premise with Never Been Kissed (1999) and made it work charmingly.
Yet, Christine Baranski ("Bowfinger," "Bulworth"), Bill Irwin ("Illuminata," "My Blue Heaven") and Molly Shannon ("Superstar," "Never Been Kissed") can't do much with their sketchily drawn roles.