Ever AfterAndy Tennant directed this Cinderella variant. The Brothers Grimm arrive at the home of a wealthy Grande Dame (
Jeanne Moreau) who speaks of the many legends surrounding the fable of the cinder girl before telling the "true" story of her ancestor. In flashback, the story then focuses on eight-year-old Danielle, daughter of a wealthy widower, a 16th-century landowner. After returning to France with his new wife Rodmilla (
Anjelica Huston) and her two daughters, he dies of a heart attack. Ten years later, Danielle (
Drew Barrymore) is now treated as a servant by the trio. Fortunately, she has an encounter with Prince Henry (
Dougray Scott), who is fleeing an arranged marriage. Later, when Danielle poses as a Lady, the Prince takes an interest in her. Inventor-artist Leonardo da Vinci (
Patrick Godfrey), accepting the French court's patronage, offers advice to Prince Henry on matters of the heart.
George Fenton's music adds an accompaniment to the lush look of this period romance. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Never Been KissedMany people wish they could go back to high school, knowing what they know as an adult; Josie Geller gets the chance to do just that in the comedy Never Been Kissed. Josie (played by
Drew Barrymore) is a 25-year-old copy editor at a newspaper in Chicago. But it's her youthful looks as much as her journalistic skills that finally win her a writing assignment: she's ordered to enroll in high school posing as a teenager for a story on the state of America's youth. Trouble is, Josie was a hopeless nerd in high school (called "Josie Grossie" by her classmates); she had no idea of how to fit in with the cool kids, and she's hardly gotten any better at it in the seven years since graduation. While Josie makes fast friends with a bookish girl named Aldys (
Leelee Sobieski), and also takes notice of her good-looking English teacher Mr. Coulson (
Michael Vartan), she realizes for the sake of her story she has to infiltrate the cool girls' clique, which will be impossible without someone to give her a crash course in hipness. Josie's brother Rob (
David Arquette), obviously the more style-conscious sibling, offers to sign up for the same school to act as the cool-guy friend she'll need to fit in, but just when Josie starts making headway (and starts enjoying high school for a change), her editor changes the focus of the story -- he now wants a feature on improper relations between teachers and students, which will not be good for her deepening friendship with Mr. Coulson. Never Been Kissed also features supporting performances from
John C. Reilly,
Molly Shannon and
Jordan Ladd (the latter in a much more wholesome vehicle than her last cinematic visit to cinematic teen-town,
Gregg Araki's Nowhere). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
