10 Things I Hate About You

On his first day at a new school, Cameron falls for Bianca Stratford. However not only is she popular and beautiful but her father has forbidden her to date until her older sister does too. The problem is her sister, Kat, is negative, bad tempered and unfriendly and certainly undateable. Cameron seeks the services of school bad boy Pat who he arranges to be paid to date Kat and thus allow him to go out with Bianca - but things never go smoothly when it comes to love.

I'm not a big fan of teen comedies. They mostly are lame, trading on the same old plots and clichés that have been around since Animal House and Porkies. The recent trend has just seen classical texts adapted giving rise to some poor films like `She's all that'. The plot for this is basically `The Taming of the Shrew' updated - most of it bares little resemblance to the play but that doesn't matter - the core is interesting enough to stand on it's own. It may not surprise you in terms of who gets which girl and it's fairly predictable in a romantic comedy type way but that's not it.

No - the film is funny, lively and pretty enjoyable. The comedy is built around the central plot with lots of nice touches and characters that are genuinely funny, such Mr Morgan and the erotic drama writing headmistress. The jokes happily never stoop to the gross-out type and this helps it feel fresh and lively, rather than just scrapping the bottom of the barrel.

Another strength is that the cast are all very likeable and give good performances all round. Compared to the horror or Prince and Lillard in `She's all that' this was a dream cast. Ledger is a real up and comer and he does well here - he doesn't over-egg his bad boy cake and his fall into love is believable. Stiles is very cool and better than the teen roles she has had of late. Here she rises above the `outsider' cliché given to her and does good work - again being a likeable and believable character.. Gordon-Levitt is OK but quite characterless compared to the main two roles, likewise Oleynik. The bets roles are those on the edges and the three adult support roles really do well and are very funny - Janney, Mitchell and especially Miller on good form. Gabrielle Union is once again given a side role that doesn't play to her strength. I like her and want to see her in bigger roles but here she is a `minority face' in a predominately white film, just as she was in She's All That - maybe I'm being a little paranoid but that's what it feels like.

Overall I was taken by surprise as to how funny and lively this film was. It didn't sink to the gross out comedy of so many teen movies and had characters and actors who brought spark and energy to the screen. It may be predictable but it works and the jokes and side characters just add to the sense of fun. Not brilliant but compared to the mediocre bunch of teen comedies you COULD watch, this is fantastic!

When I went to see 10 Things I Hate About You, I expected the usual boring, pointless romantic comedy, where the romance is unbelievable and the comedy part seriously lacking. Instead I got an excellent plot and funny jokes with actual chemistry between the leads. As it is a modern remake of Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew, you might think you need to know all about the play, but in reality the plot of the film is different and only the occasional bit of name-dropping has any connection to the play. Julia Stiles as Kat is undoubtedly the best actress, with Larisa Oleynik as her sister Bianca (an airhead eerily similar to Clueless' Cher) is also funny and believable. Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are also good as their eventual boyfriends. The dialogue is hilarious and while the romantic plot is corny, it is entertaining (although the happily ever after ending is a bit too routine). The soundtrack and in particular the main title song (by Letters to Cleo) are catchy and the outakes at the end are good, although including outakes of scene that were taken out of the end movie is kind of confusing. I would recommend 10 Things I Hate About You to absolutely anyone as it is hilarious and without doubt the best romantic comedy I have ever seen.

RATING: 4/5

I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Granted I'm just 15 years old, and also a huge fan of Shakespeare, but it was really a great film. I would have to say it's definitely more directed towards the teenage/GenX generations, but it was awesome. The tongue-and-cheek Shakespeare references were great (the "Stratford" girls, etc.) Julia Stiles & Larisa Oleynik were convincing in their roles, and not to be shallow but the guys of the movie just all looked really good. =) I recommend this to most teenage girls, although it's not totally a "chick flick" because my brother enjoyed it too. In any case, the scene with the "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" ballad at the soccer practice is a can't-miss for all you love saps. =) I will tell you right now, the ending IS predictable, but not hackneyed. It leaves you with a happy bubbly feeling about teenage love. Excellent movie, that is. (P.S. When watching this in the theaters-- DON'T leave as soon as the credits roll. There are some hilarious out-takes afterwards.)

One thing about the Bard -- he knew the plots that touches everyone's lives, no matter where on the social strata or when in history they may be. It is made apparent in the case of Cameron James, new kid in school, as he falls for the lovely Bianca, who cannot date until her older shrewish sister Kat will date. But Kat doesn't WANT to date, and thus Cameron must scheme to find a suitable guy for this harpy-with-the-heart-of-gold if he is to win the fair Bianca.

Julia Stiles may be no Elizabeth Taylor, but then, she doesn't have to be. This flick relays the same message to a brand-new audience and is fun and entertaining to boot (plus I don't think Taylor could dance on a table quite like Stiles does in one of the more memorable scenes.)

In the end, this is a charming movie that will entertain and educate high-schoolers as well as those several years past graduating. After all, Shakespeare knew what he was writing about -- there is no age limit when it comes to matters of the heart!

Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) is a hard girl to like. Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a new student at Padua High in Seattle. Michael (David Krumholtz) befriends the newcomer. Cameron falls for Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik) but her father Walter (Larry Miller) won't let her date until his daughters graduate. Then Walter changes the rule to allow Bianca to date when Kat does. Cameron intends to find somebody for Kat. Michael tricks Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan) to pay mysterious bad boy Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to take out Kat. It's basically William Shakespeare's teen rom-com "The Taming of the Shrew". It has enough wit and fun. On top of it all, there's the good young pretty cast. Stiles is a terrific high-minded B and Ledger is a great bad boy with a heart. It's all good fun.