Cast: Drew Barrymore (2), David Arquette (3), Michael Vartan (4), Leelee Sobieski (5), John C. Reilly (6), Molly Shannon (7), Jessica Alba (8), Marley Shelton (9), James Franco (10), and Octavia Spencer (11)
My favourite quotes - "There is a big world out there... bigger than prom, bigger than high school and it won't matter if you were the prom queen, or the quarterback of the football team, or the biggest nerd in school. Find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it." & "Somebody once told me that to write well, you have to write what you know. This is what I know... I am 25 years old and I have never really kissed a guy. A geek to the core, most of my childhood years were spent doing extra homework I requested from the teacher. High school was more of the same. Then at 17, it seemed as if my luck was about to change; the cutest guy asked me to the senior prom. But it turned out he invited me as a cruel joke. And I have never fully recovered. Yes, it is embarrassing to share this with the world. But it would be hard to explain what I learned and how I learned it without sharing this humiliating history. I received an assignment, my first as a reporter, to go back to high school and find out about kids today. What I ended up finding was myself, and that high school hasn't changed. There's still that one teacher who marches to her own drummer. Those girls are still there. The ones that even as you grow up will remain the most beautiful girls you've ever seen close up. The smart kids, who everyone else knew as the brains, but I just knew them as my soul mates, my teachers, my friends. And there's still that one guy, with his mysterious confidence who seems so perfect in every way. The guy you get up and go to school for in the morning. South Glen would not have been the same without him. High school would not have been the same without him. I would not be the same without him."
Blink & Miss It - Martha Hackett who plays a villain on the television series Star Trek Voyager has a small role in Never Been Kissed. Can you spot her?
I've heard that to write well, you have to write what you know. This is what I know... I'm 30 years old and since I was a young girl I've always wanted to be a writer. Sure, my ambitions changed and evolved through the years, but ultimately, I still ended up becoming a writer. I received an assignment to go back to the schools of 4 local celebrities for a new show called School Days (click on the title of the series to watch it on catch-up TV). And although I'm not an undercover reporter like Drew Barrymore's character Josie Geller, going back to school has brought up a lot of memories and emotions in me. You see, one of the celebrities featured on School Days went to the same school as I did - Temasek Polytechnic. As such, while he was walking down memory lane and sharing with us about his school days, in my head, I was reliving my school days as well. And that is why I felt the urge to watch Never Been Kissed again.
Blink & Miss It - Martha Hackett who plays a villain on the television series Star Trek Voyager has a small role in Never Been Kissed. Can you spot her?
I've heard that to write well, you have to write what you know. This is what I know... I'm 30 years old and since I was a young girl I've always wanted to be a writer. Sure, my ambitions changed and evolved through the years, but ultimately, I still ended up becoming a writer. I received an assignment to go back to the schools of 4 local celebrities for a new show called School Days (click on the title of the series to watch it on catch-up TV). And although I'm not an undercover reporter like Drew Barrymore's character Josie Geller, going back to school has brought up a lot of memories and emotions in me. You see, one of the celebrities featured on School Days went to the same school as I did - Temasek Polytechnic. As such, while he was walking down memory lane and sharing with us about his school days, in my head, I was reliving my school days as well. And that is why I felt the urge to watch Never Been Kissed again.
Tracy: Hey Rob, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Rob: Ball player.
Tracy: No I know. But I mean, what if you don't make it? I mean, you don't want to be working at the mail place for the rest of your life. It's okay for an after school job and all, but 'Hi I'm Rob, and I run the tiki post'? Totally lame.
During the interviews I had with these 4 celebrities, I realised that quite a number of them dislike the subject Maths. As do I. When I was in Junior College, I wanted to go into the pure Arts stream. That meant that I would be doing Literature, History, and Geography for my 'A' Levels. However, my mother insisted that I take Maths even though I hated the subject. Her reason was that if I didn't take Maths, I won't go far in life. I think what she meant was that my options would become limited. But truthfully, I find that most of what I learnt in A Level Maths, I never needed them because I wasn't in or interested in the line of work that required them.
Gym Teacher: Little bit more commitment Geller! Move it! Come on!
Josie: Must. Have. Water.
Gym Teacher: What do I look like? Your waitress? Now you are going to complete these sprints, because if you don't, you fail. And if you fail gym, you're never getting into college.
Josie: You guys are still telling that lie?
Gym Teacher: That's it Geller, drop, give me twenty.
Josie: No...
I didn't have to go for gym classes for a number of years during my primary and secondary school days because I was diagnosed with a heart condition. It was a mild case but I was exempted anyway. But I do remember that during my early school days it was a must to pass PE (Physical Education) class and to participate in ECAs (Extra Curriculum Activities) in order to graduate. Even though I was exempted from PE, I never understood the need to pass gym class or PE class to graduate. It's all just to get us more active perhaps.
Josie: Gus wants me to be friends with these people. The popular kids. Its impossible.
Rob: Why is it impossible?
Josie: You know what it was like for me in high school. All I wanted was to be accepted and they just tortured me. I can't go back to South Glen South.
Rob: You're at South Glen South? They have a killer baseball team!
Josie: Focus please.
Rob: Okay, okay. You're an adult now Josie. You're successful, you graduated at the top of your class, you work for a newspaper, you wash your hair now. You're not Josie Grossie anymore.
Josie: Don't you know how much I just wanted to be you in high school? Just for one day to know what it was like to be popular.
Rob: It's not that hard Josie. All you need is the right person. One person that think you're cool and you're in. Everyone else will be too scared to question.
Josie: Is that true?
Rob: Yeah, its a little known fact. Don't you want to show 'em? Gus? Billy Prince? Yourself? Don't you want to show 'em that the cool kids don't freak you out anymore. That you can go in there and you can be friends with them and you can get your story.
Josie: Yes, desperately.
Rob: Plus if you quit now then you're no better than me.
Josie: Better than I.
Rob: That's the spirit. So let's hear it. Come on. I'm not Josie Grossie anymore.
Josie: I'm not Josie Grossie anymore.
Rob: That's it. Now scream it.
Josie: I'm not Josie Grossie anymore! That's good.
What kind of student were you in school? Were you like Josie Geller, a geek? Or were you part of the popular group? Me? I guess you could call me an outsider. I didn't have many friends and kept to myself. In Secondary 1 and 2 I looked up to the school prefects who seemed so cool at the time. And so I made up my mind to become a prefect. Eventually, I did become one. Well, let's just say not all prefects are liked. Suffice to say I wasn't one of the popular kids. And I think I might have wanted to be popular for a while when I was in school but that faded away rather quickly.
It's funny because just when I was given this project School Days, my Secondary School classmate actually contacted me and the rest of the class to try and arrange a get-together after 15 years. We haven't set a date yet but I think it'll be interesting to meet old classmates again after so long and to see how much all of us have changed. And if I'm honest with myself, yes, I desperately want to show them that I am successful and I'm no longer the weird kid who didn't have any good friends in class. I'm not the old Monica Goh anymore. And I'm working towards my goal of being an awesome writer.
"Let me tell you something, I don't care about being your stupid prom queen. I'm 25 years old. I'm an undercover reporter for the Chicago Sun Times and I have been beating my brains out trying to impress you people. Let me tell you something Gibby, Kirsten, Kristin, you will spend your lives trying to figure out how to keep others down because it makes you feel more important. Why her? Let me tell you about this girl, she is unbelievable. I was new here and she befriended me no questions asked. But you, you were only my friend after my brother, Rob, posed as a student and told you to like me. All of you people, there is a big world out there... bigger than prom, bigger than high school, and it won't matter if you were the prom queen, or the quarterback of the football team, or the biggest nerd in school. Find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it."
Our school days was a time of exploration and learning. It's a time when we can find out who we are, what we want to be, and to go out there and try to achieve our dreams. It's a time when you can afford to make mistakes so that you will learn from them. I love the quote above because I think no matter which country you're from or which decade you grew up in, what Drew Barrymore's Josie says here is very true. "There is a big world out there. Bigger than prom, bigger than high school, and it won't matter if you were the prom queen, or the quarterback of the football team, or the biggest nerd in school." All you need to do is "find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it".
