Drew Barrymore makes screen relationships feel easy to believe. We rate her warmth and comic presence, particularly when she has someone to respond to, from the children of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to Adam Sandler.
Fi1m perspective
Gertie in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) is funny without becoming interchangeable with the other children. Spielberg gives the central friendship to Henry Thomas’s Elliott, but Barrymore and Robert MacNaughton keep the family worth watching around it. We were moved by Elliott’s practical concern for the frightened alien, because Thomas makes helping him seem more urgent than marvelling at him. Barrymore’s contribution is smaller, but matters: Gertie has her own comic presence rather than simply helping the main story along.
Her adult career did not settle immediately into romantic comedy. The opening of Scream (1996) established a lasting connection with horror. Then The Wedding Singer (1998) and 50 First Dates (2004) made the pairing with Adam Sandler central to her appeal. The attraction in those films is easy to believe because the two seem to enjoy one another’s company.
Producing gave her some say in those choices, through Flower Films, which she co-founded with Nancy Juvonen in 1995. She produced and starred in Charlie's Angels (2000), so the lighter work cannot simply be treated as something that happened to her. The dramatic role of Little Edie in Grey Gardens (2009) also makes the romantic-comedy label look insufficient. Her directorial debut, Whip It (2009), took her towards coming-of-age stories, a useful departure from those familiar romantic leads.
Smile 2 (2024) uses Barrymore’s familiarity to make an interview uncomfortable. She plays herself asking Naomi Scott’s pop star Skye about the crash on a chat show. The answer sounds rehearsed to exhaustion, and Scott lets us hear the effort behind it. Barrymore is good here because she gives Scott a recognisable public situation to struggle through without pulling attention towards the cameo.
We would not make a large claim for her acting from that appearance. She has hosted The Drew Barrymore Show since 2020, and the cameo draws on skills she uses there. Scott carries Parker Finn’s film, whose repeated scares wear out well before her performance does. For a fuller sense of Barrymore’s value in an ensemble, start with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and watch the children around Elliott.
Biography
Drew Blythe Barrymore is an American actress. Born on 22 February 1975 in Culver City, California, she is a member of the Barrymore family of actors and the granddaughter of John Barrymore.
She rose to prominence as a child actress with her role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). She later starred in films including Scream (1996), Charlie's Angels (2000), Donnie Darko (2001) and 50 First Dates (2004). Barrymore has also appeared in Smile 2 (2024). She founded the production company Flower Films and hosts the syndicated talk show The Drew Barrymore Show.
