If there is one American movie that I do think would make a perfect plot for a typical Korean drama, it is Never Been Kissed. So here’s my attempt at a crazy idea.
The original story is about this young-looking reporter, Josie Geller, who gets assigned to cover schoo
l life working undercover, blending in with contemporary school kids. She gets to revisit her own school complexes and insecurities, make friends, inspire others and fall in love. We do have some “secret identity” dramas this season but they don’t work out in quite the same way. I mean King of High school Conduct- a ridiculous drama with a ridiculous plot. I’m not against secret undercover identity plot ( as was used in the k-flick She’s on Duty) but something akin to Never Been Kissed would make more sense than the pulp dished out by the TvN Korean tv station this season. Never Been Kissed was to some extent a search to come to terms with the past. I related to Josie a little in her struggles.
- Writer: Abby Kohn, Mark Silvernstein
- Korean Writer- Kwon Ki Young (all about my romance), Lee Woo Jung (Reply 1997).
- Music: David Newman
- OST: Yoon Do Hyun – Me These Days (feat. Tablo & K.Will); Super Junior – Evanesce; T-Ara: Last Calendar
- Running Time: 107 minutes
- Korean Version: 16 -18 episodes.
Original Cast:
- Drew Barrymore as Josie Geller
- David Arquette as Rob Geller
- Michel Vartan as Sam Coulson
Supporting Cast included:
- Leelee Sobieski as Aldys
- Molly Shannon as Anita
- John C. Reilly as Augustus “Gus” Strauss
- Jeremy Jordan as Guy Perkins
- Jessica Alba as Kirsten
- Jordan Ladd as Gibby Marley Shelton as Kristen
- Garry Marshall as Rigfort
- James Franco as Jason
- Denny Kirkwood as Billy Prince
- Marissa Jaret Winokur as Sheila Maya
- McLaughlin as Lara
- Giuseppe Andrews as Denominator
- Octavia Spencer as Cynthia
- Branden Williams as Tommy
- Cress Williams as George
- Sean Whalen as Merkin
- Martha Hackett as Mrs. Knox
- Jenny Bicks as Miss Haskell
- Katie Lansdale as Tracy
I personally rather liked Drew Barrymore in this role. She was very delicate. Given that everyone loves remakes these days and especially Koreans, this seems like a plausible idea. There has been a slew of remakes of other productions or famous novels. It can be an interesting experiment, like Three Musketeers. But it can be really annoying and end up a disaster. Anyway, I think this movie may be up for a Korean remake. They would make it far more melodramatic I’m sure. So far the only similar flick I can think of is She’s On Duty with Kim Sun Ah.
It’s easy to imagine the same premise for a never been kissed korean remake: her encounter with high school jocks and princesses. One of them would be attracted by her shyness and passion for literature. Oh ho, she could even have a rival for the teacher. Korean dramas love noona romances, much as I am not a fan of the format and I’m tired of it being overused..and as I say I really hated King of High School Conduct..in fact, I was disgusted by it. It was pure fanservice and a little unethical for a noona romance.
Let’s see, the teacher’s ex (this would be an addition, I don’t recall an ex in the original flick) may be someone who left him to find herself but just as our heroine enters school and befriends the teacher, the ex dramatically reappears. One of the things such an ex would happily do is, of course, report the possibly unethical relationship between a teacher and “student”. Josie’s reporter boss may intervene in some equally dramatic fashion and himself find romance with the reluctant but possibly energetic school headmaster- an equivalent of Anita, since if I recall Anita and Gus in never been kissed were together too. They would have ample room for the triangles and squares they so love. Give the romance to Rob as well, why not? Incidentally I thought Lee Min Jung and Jang Sang Wook worked well together in Cunning Single Lady. Oh yeah and the Korean version of Aldys would find her prince in the likewise nerdy and quirky unnamed student who would appear in a guest role and sweep her off her feet at the most desolate moment. I know this wasn’t there in the original flick (as far as I remember) but well this is how I envisage a Korean remake of the film in an average length drama. Everyone can have a romance with some melodrama going on. It would be good to foreground a sense of struggle on Josie’s part, her friendship with Aldys and Sam’s dilemma.
Korean Main Cast
- Lee Yoon Ji as Josie Geller
- Joo Sang Wook as Sam Coulton
- Lee Je Hoon as “Rob Geller”
- Lee Min Jung as Sam’s “ex”
- Yoo Seung Ho– as the “prince/jock” character Guy and the one Josie had a crush on in high school
- Jung Eun Ji – snobbish, empty-headed school “queen”.
- Im Ju Eun – Aldys/ the kind-hearted school nerd
- Ahn Jae Hyun- a nerdy student, Aldys love interest
- Lee Sung Min– Gus- Josie’s managing editor
- Oh Yun Soo– School Principal
Aigoo! Dramas! 
