‘10 Things I Hate About You’ shows you can’t go wrong with a Shakespeare adaptation
I've never been much of a romantic comedy person. With the exception of a few that I remember my mom putting on TV when I was little like "13 Going on 30" and a handful of others, so I thought I'd give one of the staples of the genre, particularly the late 1990s/early 2000s, with "10 Things I Hate About You."
"10 Things I Hate About You" was released in 1999 and is based on William Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew." If there's one thing I do enjoy, it's a teen movie that's based off of a Shakespeare play -- they really should start doing those again.
The movie features an ensemble cast, following Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who instantly develops feelings for Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), a typical teenage girl who's crushing on older boy Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan).
Cameron's hopes to ask her out are dashed when his newfound friend, Michael (David Krumholtz), tells him Bianca's father -- a local obstetrician -- refuses to let her or older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) date until they're 18.
Not one to be completely deterred, Cameron begins to tutor Bianca in French (Note: Cameron barely understands French.) and soon learns that Bianca and her dad struck up a new deal. Bianca is allowed to date if Kat dates.
So Cameron and Michael begin to devise a plan to get the local bad boy -- Patrick (Heath Ledger) -- to take Kat on dates.
Obviously this plan doesn't work as easily as you'd think. Patrick isn't exactly keen on being nice to these two random kids. So they have to convince Joey, who wants to date Bianca, to pay Patrick to do so. I mean, what could go wrong, right?
It wouldn't be a teen rom com if there wasn't a lot of insanity throughout the movie and a big betrayal along the way. But, as in most movies around this time, things will turn out alright in the end.
To be honest, I'm not surprised people enjoyed this movie as much as they did when it first came out. We get to see a lot of these actors before they became bigger names -- specifically Stiles, the late Ledger and Gordon-Levitt -- showcase why they managed to make it farther in their acting careers.
This isn't anything groundbreaking, and does follow most of the basic teenage tropes for a romance movie. But it also has a lot of fun too (which I attribute to it being based off of Shakespeare). I'm pro-screenplay writers getting back into finding inspiration in his work. Considering this, "She's the Man" and even Disney's "The Lion King" have all become huge successes -- it shows the famed writer’s words can still resonate.
My campaign for this aside, "10 Things I Hate About You" overall isn't too bad -- even if I've never been one to get too excited about a romcom.
It has good actors, a classic storyline filled with hyginx such as a house party gone wrong; big professions of love that involve the authorities; the prom (of course); sprinkled with crass jokes for the time period.
It also has some heart. Kat and Bianca's relationship at face value is a typical one for sisters I'd say (speaking as someone with a sister). But there's a deeper connection between the two that's developed and we learn why Kat acts the way she does and attempts to protect Bianca from the less-than-savory parts of the high school experience.
That heartfelt feeling does extend into our main romance with Patrick and Kat as well. Patrick is clearly the carefree guy to Kat's rigid personality. But the pair learn a thing or two from each as the movie progresses.
Honestly, this movie has a lot of moving parts when you get down to it, but they all come together pretty well in the end.
Also, just the sheer random background stuff that happens in this movie is entertaining. Pay close attention to whatever is going on when scenes are shot on the soccer field in particular -- I found that to be my favorite background content.
Overall, I'd give "10 Things I Hate About You" a solid 8/10 (if I ever rated movies like this... which I don't). It's got a good crop of young actors -- I'll forever be sad about the loss of Heath Ledger -- a fun and somewhat interesting storyline all wrapped up in some 90s/2000s nostalgia.
So, if you're in the mood for a bit of a romcom, I'd suggest giving "10 Things I Hate About You" a shot. You may find yourself recognizing some of its scenes from pop culture over the years even.
"10 Things I Hate About You" is rated PG-13 and may be watched on fuboTV, Hulu, Sling TV, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Vudu.
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Laura Jameson is Managing Editor of The Express.