A funny movie worth revisiting!
Josie Geller, (Drew Barrymore) an aspiring journalist, is
eagerly looking for a breakout moment in her career so she takes on an
assignment which requires her to enroll at her old High School and go undercover
as a “teen”. Within minutes of being back at her old school Josie
is flooded with haunting memories of her struggle to fit in and the cruelty she
endured, like the nickname “Josie Grossie”. Trying to climb the
High School ladder into popularity proves to be as hard as it was her first time
around. In her search for the perfect story she finds herself
smack dab in the middle of a story that people want to hear.
This movie could be either hilariously therapeutic or down
right painful depending on your High School experience. Luckily, I
did not have an experience quite like Josie but I did find myself cringing a bit
while watching as I recalled some of my embarrassing High School days.
Barrymore is brilliant as Josie and she had me laughing at her wacky
outfits and awkward interactions but that is the genius around her ugly duckling
story. The very handsome Michael Vartan plays one of Josie’s
teachers, David Arquette is her naturally cooler brother, and we can’t leave out
Leelee Sobieski as one of her nerdier friends but seriously you have to give her
props for wearing a one piece spandex outfit. A comedy with
romance that will give you the feel good ending we all want!
Motherly Advice: I had my filters set to most
filtering which I recommend. Throughout the film some of the
female students wear revealing clothing like short skirts and low cut shirts.
Josie is a naïve young woman even though she is 25 and at a club one night she
eats a piece of cake that was laced with drugs and therefore she becomes high
without knowing it. Poor Josie, during flashbacks of her own High
School days is seen being teased and bullied and at one point on her prom night
she is crying due to the mean nature of her teasers. A scene to
definitely be leery of especially if watching with teens is in a health class
all of the students are given bananas and condoms and are taught how to use
contraception properly (a very unnecessary scene, I hate it when they do
that). Last but not least we can’t ignore the fact that while
Josie is attending school no one is aware of her true age which makes her
relationship with her teacher (Vartan) inappropriate since they develop feelings
for each other. I would suggest 15 and up due to some subject
matter.
Hannah - I have some great high school
memories but I am NOT looking to go back!
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