I can somewhat see her get away with it. Drew does have a babyface and youthful-sounding voice to reasonably make it work. I've read the argument on TVTropes that Josie ACTUALLY looks older while posing as high school student then she does in her office attire.
https://moviechat.org/tt0151738/Never-Been-Kissed/58c7662b6b51e905f6840426/25-year-old-being-able-to-pass-as-high-schooler
Some people mistake me for being a teenager. I'm petite, have a young-looking face, and a high voice. Hollywood's taken advantage of this in many actors for years. Just ask Gary Burghoff, the 30-year-old who played 19-year-old Radar on "M*A*S*H." Or Michael J. Fox, who was way older than teenage Marty McFly in the "Back to the Future" trilogy.
shareExactly, well said. Ralph Machio (spell??) is a great example. I think he was 25 or so when he played Karate Kid. I was shocked when I read that.
shareI saw Never Been Kissed again the other day on Starz and I don't mean to be joking, but I sometimes wonder about Drew Barrymore and her diction. For example during the famous "I'm not Josie Grossie anymore!" scene, when Drew talks about her relationship with her teacher Mr. Coulson, the way that Drew pronounces it sounds like she's saying "Mr. COOOL-sun" instead of "CUUL-sin". And when she said that she was dressed as Rosalind from Shakespeare's "As You Like It", it sounded to my ears as if her name was "RAZEL-lund" instead of 'ROZOOL-lind".
I know that Drew Barrymore grew up in Southern California, so that may explain her unique cadence. She wrote in her memoir "Wildflower" that if she sounds like a "valley girl" to you it's because she lived in Sherman Oaks from the ages of 7-14. And in Drew's case, she appears to show signs of having a glottal (vocal) fry or "upspeak".
https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k944z/why-is-it-so-cringey-when-drew-barrymore-says-dope
Sure. I recently turned 44 & I'm mistaken for a teenager still or a college student. I'm only 5' tall and have a baby face. My oldest daughter is 24 and there have been times she is mistaken for the mom of the family and I'm mistaken for the kid. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to show my ID in some places. I recently saw a new doctor and she walked into the room and back out, looked at the chart on the door then at me and said "Honey, you have got to tell me your secret! There is no way you are in your 40s. I hardly look 20." I just smiled and said "Thank you. I guess the secret is good genes." I hated this when I was younger because when I was pregnant I'd get nasty looks and so did my husband. He's 8yrs older than me. Many assumed I was a pregnant teen with an older man.
shareMy wife is 43. She did one of those guess your age things. The guy thought she was 13. The checker insisted she pull out her I.D. He thought she was trying to scam the guy.
shareRecently had another. We were at Costco with our seventeen year old daughter. My wife asked me to check on availability of some software. When I walked up to the customer service rep, the two of them stood back because of all the people in line. The Rep asked if they were with me. I said yes. Her response "You might want to think about this. When they turn eighteen you can get them their own accounts."
shareIt was kind of weird seeing Drew Barrymore at the MTV VMAs as a presenter the other week. Drew may have literally been the oldest person on screen. Even the way that Drew was dressed kind of gave off a matronly vibe. Drew Barrymore in fairness, is I suppose, one of those celebrities who you could say, has cross-generational appeal.
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