Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr is a weekly Canadian podcast about young adult literature, their film and television adaptations, and everything in between. Now in its sixth season, the podcast—hosted by film critic Joe Lipsett and English professor Brenna Clarke-Gray—aims to highlight the cultural worth of young adult and middle-grade texts, with a focus on Canadian, Indigenous and minority creatives and stories.
Join us weekly for deep dives, as well as a round of YA BINGO.
Book 6, Chapter 30: Never Been Kissed
Just in time for its 25th anniversary , Brenna and Joe check out Raja Gosnell’s Never Been Kissed (1999).
While Joe thinks this take on As You Like It is totally rufus, Brenna thinks he’s blinded by nostalgia, particularly about the student/teacher romance.
Plus: a charismatic David Arquette, Drew Barrymore‘s lisp, physical pratfalls, and – oh yeah – is this film even YA?!
Read on for more about this week’s episode from co-host Joe Lipsett:
I missed last week’s post about The Kissing Booth 2, so here’s the quick take away: the book is trash and the film is fun.
Speaking of fun, how’s this for a blast from the past? It’s always dicey when HKHS covers a film from my youth that Brenna hasn’t seen because it often confirms that my nostalgia goggles are firmly in place.
That’s definitely the case with Never Been Kissed. I can probably recite the entire film from memory, while Brenna couldn’t get past the uncomfortable teacher/student romance bubbling under the surface. This tracks; we’ve been doing a YA podcast for five years, and we have encountered this outdated trope countless times.
The difference is that the romance never blossoms until the truth about Barrymore’s character Josie has been revealed. Throw in the fact that this is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, and I would argue that the film is firmly playing in grey (but acceptable) territory.
For this reason I will always defend Never Been Kissed. It’s totally rufus, even if Brenna disagrees -JL
Subscribe to HKHS Pod: Apple Podcasts | Spotify (or anywhere else you get your podcasts!)
Follow the pod on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky.
