Drew Barrymore recently revealed that she was asked by the studio to tone down her unattractive look while filming the 1999 romantic comedy ‘Never Been Kissed’. In the film, Barrymore plays Josie Grossie, a newspaper reporter who goes undercover at a high school to research a story. In this article we talk about Why Was Drew Barrymore Told to ‘Tone Down’ Her Look in ‘Never Been Kissed’?
Pressure to Succeed
According to Barrymore, there was a lot of pressure on her as both the lead actress and a producer on the film. At the time, studios were wary of actors trying to also produce movies. She said “A lot of it wasn’t necessarily working, and it didn’t mean because you were an actor, you knew how to produce the film. And it was about the economics. So if you didn’t make the film work, and you produced it as an actor, you are likely to not be able to do it again.”
The high stakes made Barrymore stressed throughout filming. She knew if the movie failed, she might not get another chance to produce. She said she had to “clench her stomach the whole time” and was constantly scared.
Told to Tone Down Josie’s Look
Part of Josie’s comedic appeal is that she is presented as nerdy and unattractive at the beginning. However, Barrymore said she took Josie’s frumpiness too far for the studio’s liking.
She revealed “I would get these calls from the studio and they were like, ‘I’m sorry, but you’re just looking top unattractive. Stop it.’ And I was like, ‘Good.’ And they were like, ‘No, no, no, no, no. It’s too far.’ So I was forced to even tone it down a little bit because I had gone even farther than.”
The studio was concerned that in trying so hard to make Josie unattractive for comedic effect, Barrymore would lose the character’s heart and likeability. She said “Then they said something that appealed to my sensibilities rather than my ego. They were like, ‘We don’t want you to lose the heart because you’re going so far for the comedy.’ And I was like, ‘Great argument. Let me dial it back a little bit.’”
So the Josie audiences see in the final film is a toned-down version of Barrymore’s original vision. Still geeky and messy, but not overly so.
Why Her Look Was Important
Josie’s transition from geek to chic is central to the film’s narrative and appeal. If she didn’t start out frumpy enough, her glamorous makeover at the end would lack impact. So getting the right balance of unattractive versus overly unattractive was key.
The studio just wanted to ensure Josie was still relatable and likable despite her looks. Going too far into ugly duckling territory could have made audiences unable to root for her or care about her romance with the popular teacher played by Michael Vartan.
Barrymore understood the note and adjusted accordingly. She said “Josie what you see there is me dialed back and it came out and it worked. And we got really lucky and I’m very, very grateful.”
Ultimately, toning it down a bit worked. ‘Never Been Kissed’ was a box office success and helped cement Barrymore’s production company. It remains a beloved romantic comedy to this day. Josie Grossie strikes the right balance of comedy without losing the emotional story at the film’s core.
Key Takeaways
The key takeaways from Drew Barrymore being asked to tone down Josie’s look in Never Been Kissed are:
- As producer, Barrymore felt immense pressure for the film to succeed. Failure could have damaged her production career.
- She made Josie extremely unattractive early on for comedic effect. But the studio felt she went too far.
- They were concerned Josie would be unlikeable if she was too ugly and frumpy.
- Barrymore dialed back Josie’s styling to find the right balance.
- Her toned-down look worked for the film’s comedy and heart. Never Been Kissed became a hit.
In the end, Barrymore struck comedy gold with a character whose look was just unattractive enough to be funny but still relatable. Josie Grossie remains one of rom-com’s most iconic transformations. I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this “Why Was Drew Barrymore Told to ‘Tone Down’ Her Look in ‘Never Been Kissed’?” article.
