"Fried Chicken Just Tend to Make You Feel Better About Life"

I have loved the movie "Never Been Kissed" from the first time I ever saw it 13 years ago.  If you haven't seen it - and estrogen runs through your body - it's definitely one to Netflix. It's about a nerdy, young copy editor/aspiring writer who returns to high school undercover to find a hit story.  And when she does, she suddenly remembers that her high school years as "Josie Grossie" (I'M NOT JOSIE GROSSIE ANYMORE!) were horrifying and excruciating painful.  There are more similarities than I'd like to remember to my own high school experience.

Sigh.  Well, that's surely an exaggeration, but you all know what I mean.  You do know what I mean, don't you?  And if you were one of those cheerleader, beautiful, popular, cool-group types...well...bless your sweet soul.

Drew Barrymore is adorable in this movie (is there any movie she's not adorable in?), and the supporting cast has some really fun actors in it (David Arquette, Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly, and Michael Vartan to name a few). It also has another actress who had a small part in it and has built up her resume quite a bit since then: Octavia Spencer.

As "Cynthia"

Octavia Spencer, as Cynthia,  works at the newspaper office with Josie. In the scene pictured above, when Josie is describing the perfect, first kiss that she is awaiting, Cynthia tells her, "Da** girl, you are a writer!" Honestly, there's not much more to her part than that, but I've seen this movie 90 gazillion times, so I always end up saying that line with her.  Shh.  Don't tell Mama.

As "Minnie Jackson"

Now, I got on The Help bandwagon about three years ago when my neighbor mentioned this great new book she just read.  So I trotted on over to the library and got it and FELL IN LOVE.  And then I listened to the novel this fall on CD while I traveled to see my Charlottesville Andrea (remember?). Listening to it on CD was AMAZING.  The characters really came to life in those southern dialects.  So, when the movie of The Help came out this fall, and I went to watch it with Mama (the one who doesn't know I'm a Closet Movie Cusser), I was ready!  And while, of course, the movie left out some key elements of the book and made some alterations to situations, it was still absolutely fabulous.  Fabulous acting, fabulous set design, fabulous costumes, and fabulous story. Loved it.  And one of the SEVERAL stand-out actresses was the  - wait for it - fabulous Octavia Spencer who looked kind of vaguely familiar to me.  So, when I look her up on the interwebs, turns out, she's been in a movie that I've adored for years.

[Pause: gently slapping self in the head]

I may not be the most observant person you know.  But word on the street at my house, is I'm one pretty hot kisser. 

Don't tell Mama that either.