That’s the premise in this sweet but trifling comedy. And while Never Been Kissed is nothing to write home about, there’s something to be admired in Barrymore’s head-first approach. Not to mention that it’s hard to pooh-pooh a movie that’s so upbeat in its message about possibilities.

Possibility number one is that chance to go back to high school and really do it right this time. Barrymore stars as Josie Geller, a newspaper copy editor in Chicago, who does just that in her first writing assignment. Possibility number two is her tryout as a reporter, something she’s wanted to do for a long time. Finally, possibility number three is Josie finding that one special guy to give her her first kiss.

In addition to starring in the film, Barrymore produced it (the first for her company). It’s the second feature for the director Raja Gosnell (his first being Home Alone 3) and the debut for screenwriters Abby Kohn and March Silverstein. This may account for Never Been Kissed’s reach-for-the-stars theme.

But before all the glory, there are some hitches. Josie enrolls in high school and finds herself exactly where she was a decade earlier — a loser who’s a magnet for harassment from the cool kids. Flashbacks show Josie’s first go-around, when she had braces, bad skin, and even worse hair. She was also a little too eager in her affection for one boy, which resulted in humiliation. Now 25, she’s a reserved, neat-freak perfectionist who wears knee socks and does needlepoint. When she goes back to school, she gets eaten up alive.

Yet, there’s that little bit of oomph in her that gives her the courage to go for the reporting assignment, and it helps her endure the ordeal. When she gets scooped on a story involving the school’s happening clique, her brother Rob (David Arquette) goes back to high school too, in order to infiltrate the cool kids’ group and make sure Josie gets included. Meanwhile, there’s a young, hunky English teacher (Michael Vartan) making eyes at Josie.