User reviews

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.

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!

Based on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew," "10 Things I Hate About You" offers a refreshing revival of the "good" teen films, as compared to the "typical" teen films.

It's based on Shakespeare's story somewhat loosely. It's about a teenaged girl whose father will not allow her to date. Finally he comes up with a clever idea - if she can convince her older sister (who is a strict, boring "b***") to date someone, the younger sibling can as well. Her father knows this is as realistic as saying "When pigs begin to fly" but then he can't be accused of being unfair.

"10 Things..." is overall pretty good. It's better than I thought it would be. It has some funny moments, it's got a talented cast with some older actors popping up in various humorous roles, etc. It's not as refreshing or unique as a John Hughes teen comedy but it certainly plays upon some of the clichés of the genre (invented by Hughes no less) to good effect.

Overall, I was impressed with the movie, and the actors, and that's saying a lot considering it's a teen film (a genre I have come to loathe recently with entries such as "Slackers" etc.).

Love love LOVE this movie. It is a classic, story is great, the actors are amazing, and the comedy is funny! There is something to laugh at every minute, and all the elements marry together perfectly to make a feel good movie, with depth and humour that isn't seen very often these days.

The cast are brilliant, Heath Ledger is awesome and brings an honesty to his character, Julia stiles is authentic and someone every girl can identify with. Has a lot of actors who made it big after the film - great cast.

An old school movie, they don't make them like this anymore!

Based extremely lightly on Shakespeare, our story picks up when young high school kid Cameron falls for Bianca, who isn't allowed to date. Bianca and her sister Kats father decides that Bianca kay date, so long as her sister Kat does as well. What seems like a sure bet as Kat has no interest in boys. When part model and full time jerk Joey Donner and mysterious loner Patrick Verona get involved will she change her mind? This film wants to be so much, but the limited investment in any of the characters really hampers what could be a fun and effective comedy. That's not to say the cast isn't good with their limited material, but that's the problem - there just isn't much to munch on. It wants to be as bad as some 80s sex comedy but the big party just isn't that big, the kids just aren't that interesting, and the big prom feels like an afterthought. Recommended only if you're a big fan of the era, the stars, or high school comedies in general.

This movie was one of those turning point movies for cinema as a whole, from the same batch as A Knight's Tale, Titanic, The Matrix, Donnie Darko, American Pie, and so on.

So many brilliant actors in their youth here, in this petri dish of talent, it makes my heart wrench at how much the world, cinema, and life has changed since then, and those who are no longer around, such as Heath.

This is one of the best romance movies imo, and reminds me of my youth when life felt so new, young and exciting

The casting, acting, direction, writing, everything really, is superb.

Recommended for everyone.

It seems very timely that HBO was playing this today- on it's 20th Anniversary. Of course, I had to watch it while I was getting ready for work. Since this is a rewatch (for the nth time), I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I know most of the dialogues here- I can even recite Kat's (Julia Stiles) lines! Even the French scene between Cameron and Bianca. Crazy! This is a "terribly underrated" movie and I still love it 20 years after- I still fell for Heath and JGL, for the music, for all the clichés, the fun and all the 90s aesthetics.

I wanted to see this movie when it first came out but never did. I didn't get a copy until a week ago and finally watched it with my girlfriend. I have to admit, I've seen it five times in the past week. A lot of teen movies have very basic or clichéd plots, but not this one. It's based on "The Taming of the Shrew" and it has a lot of interesting twists. The music is awesome, every song actually fits the moment, and the two love stories are actually interesting to watch. Even all the actors did a really great job. The only bad thing is the occasional dirty jokes. If you don't care for teen movies, don't worry, you are just like me, this movie is still worth watching. I'm giving it a 10 to bring those ratings up!

10 Things I Hate About You is a generally nice, fun and easy going film to watch. This is the first time I had ever seen Julia Styles in a role and I thought her acting went way beyond what is normally expected from a typical 'teenage' flick. She is so believable. Just saw her In Dexter and I cannot believe she still looks exactly the same all these years later.

I remember watching this all those years ago and totally falling madly in love with Heath Ledger and realising how amazing he is in this film. OK it pains in significance with his future roles e.g. Brokeback/Dark Knight etc but all the same he does carry this movie. Joseph-Gordon Levitt also is very good.

It's a nice film that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. I enjoy it as much now in my late twenties as I did in my late teens.

It's a must for Heath Ledge fans, especially the singing on the stairs scene.

A movie like this doesn't exactly hit you over the head with its originality, and can only be as good as the actors. They must convince you that you've never seen anything like this before. In this case every single member of the cast is so good that they sold me on the movie from minute one. Heath Ledger & Julia Stiles make a great couple and his rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" was one of the highlights. When Julia listed the "10 Things" she was crying and I was, too - extremely unusual for me in a movie like this. Everyone else was just as good and this movie is a keeper.

This movie is nothing short of predictable, cheesy and goofy. The transformation of Julia Stiles character is quick, unbelievable and cheesy. The filmmakers must think the viewers were idiots to buy the change in character's "overnight" transformation from "men are scum" to "i want a man" as it comes about. This movie should have been a made-for-TV small screen gem vs. a large screen goofy, cheesy and predictable comedy that is far from being a "classic".

PLOT - Strict rules in the Stratford household forbid Bianca from having a boyfriend until her odious sister has one of her own. Mating mayhem ensues when Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger)--a sullen young man with a mysterious past--is bribed by Bianca's wannabe boyfriend (Andrew Keegan) to woo and win Kat, in order to clear the way for Bianca to begin dating.

They say it's a twist on Shakespeare's play, however this is a far cry from it. It doesn't come remotely close to being in the same class as a Shakespearean play. The comparison is laughable and a downright lie.

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

It's kinda weird that people say this story was based off of a Shakespeare story, yet no one ever mentions what this was based on. But 10 Things I Hate About You is one of the classic teen movies that came out of the 90's that was actually pretty good. It had a great cast, the story was original and a lot of fun, and the whole movie made you laugh and feel good. This was the movie that really sky rocketed Heath Ledger's career in America and I remember in school how all the girls were just drooling over him. Also all the guys fell in love with Julia Styles, she was also just awesome in this movie and made for a good strong female lead. This movie captured a great amount of what most teens go through in their world, wither it's just wanting to be different, popular, having an over protective parent, dealing with sex and rejection, this movie just worked on so many levels.

Cameron James, the new kid at Padua High School, is given a tour of the school by Michael, who is an audio-visual geek. Michael provides Cameron with information on the school's various cliques. During the tour, Cameron spots the beautiful and popular Bianca and is immediately smitten with her. Michael warns that Bianca is shallow, conceited, and worst of all, not allowed to date. Michael does, however, inform Cameron that Bianca is looking for a French tutor. Bianca's outcast sister Kat is another problem of hers' as well as her protective father, Walter, as he wants Kat to attend college nearby and wants Bianca to not date thinking it will lead to pre-marital pregnancy. Bianca begs her father to allow her to date, but is rejected, Kat's aversion to dating prompts the father to come up with a new rule: Bianca can only date if Kat is dating. Cameron starts tutoring Bianca, and she informs him of her father's rule. This news motivates Cameron and Michael to set out to find a boy who is willing to date Kat. Patrick Verona, an outcast who is just as ill-tempered as Kat. Cameron tries asking Patrick for his assistance, Cameron pays Patrick to take Kat out. Patrick agrees, but Kat, however, wants nothing to do with Patrick. Leading into Dawson's Creek drama.

If you do have the opportunity to see 10 Things I Hate About You I do recommend that you take the chance. It's a good movie and doesn't push you around or play games with you, and that's why everyone loved it, because it was just honest. Plus you just have to love the adorable scene where Heath Ledger sang to Julia Styles on the bleachers and got chased around by security, if that's not love and commitment, then I don't know what is. It has a great happy ending and just makes you feel good.

7/10

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.)

To see or not to see? That is the question isn't it? Although simplistic at times, I do recommend everyone to see " The 10 Things I Hate About You." The movie is yet another one of those adolescent modern stories that are based on old shakespearean plays. The difference with this one is that it does work. Why? I will give well what about 10 reasons for you: 1) Humorous screenplay 2) Well-ensembled acting 3) Julia Stiles 4) Adequate duration time 5) Julia Stiles 6) Larry Miller's obsessive parental performance 7) Julia Stiles 8) Nifty soundtrack 9) Julia Stiles 10) Feel good movie

Did i forget to say Julia Stiles? Ms. Stiles demonstrates that she does have a promising future in the acting business. It might not be a perfect 10, but " The 10 Things I Hate About You" gets high marks. **** Good

All the praise in the world goes to every individual involved in the production of 10 Things I Hate About You,a film that rarely leaves my DVD player.I'm not a fan of Shakespeare's traditional plays,but the modern day screen adaptions are brilliant,and 10 Things I Hate About You is no exception.The highschool stereotypes of the cool kids nobody messes with,the wannabe's that try too hard to be something they're not,the geeks everyone picks on and the rebels everyone is afraid of,mean there's a character in this film everyone can relate to.The stand out performances are Heath Ledger as Patrick,the rebellious,feared and elusive bad guy who wins the heart of Kat Stratford played to perfection by fine actress Julia Stiles who has no interest in the opposite sex and is perceived to come from the planet 'Loser' while her more sociable,boy crazy sister Bianca (Larissa Oleynik)hails from planet 'Look at Me,Look at Me'.Her good looks catch the eye of the smooth,suave and egotistical Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan) who is a male model,and fights for the affections of the prettiest Stratford sister with Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) the highschool geek,with a big heart and a big crush on Bianca.The hilarious Larry Miller stars as Walter Stratford-the kind of father who puts his girls on a short leash and desperately tries to shield them from the horrors of sex,drugs and rock and roll,and of course,boys.A typical teenage comedy,but its witty dialogue,goofy,sexy,cool and bad ass characters,and enjoyable storyline set it apart from all the rest.There's plenty of memorable moments,romance,and clever and classic lines,all leading up to a predictable but perfectly good ending that leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling about teenage love.

Looking back, this movie had a pretty (no pun intended) decent cast. The now deceased Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles as front runners of course. It is a pretty good romantic teen comedy, that is pretty nice. And that's saying something, if you consider the fact, that it came out the same year, American Pie was.

While the latter was a pretty gross comedy, that still had heart to it, this is more the classical approach to a teen comedy. Something that hasn't been done that much after "10 things..." came out. Which obviously lies within the fact, that it's pretty easy to slide down the cliché road and wind up boring people more than entertaining them. But which also states the fact, that this is pretty decent and a nice addition to the teen rom-coms!

This was the Kickstarter to three big actors careers. Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Some of the comedy is well utilised and the jokes can come in so bizarrely that you can't help but laugh. I mean, I love how random this film is. Parts of the film feel so different and bizarre and it actually works. And also the multiple amount of main characters. I mean, at first u think it's gonna be Joseph Gordon Levitt because he is the new kid at school, but then it changes to Bianca and Cat and it starts to become a story about two sisters but then it sort of changes to a love story about Heath Ledger and Cat. However, it doesn't feel bad either. But if I were to say anything negative about it then I would say that Cameron's backstory was kinda glanced over and he isn't really given much character development. Also, there's really strange scene. This is where they are trying to ask a bunch of strangers whether they would date Cat. Now they could have just had them all laughing which they do, but then proceed to ask them one by one. It just feels a bit too strange and the editing isn't great either. Anyway, my favourite character is probably the English teacher. He's just the embodiment of what you wanted, but also didn't want your teachers to be like. But obviously the best scene in the entire film is the 'Can't take my eyes off you" performance done by Heath Ledger. The acting is gray with Julia Stiles giving a strong performance and Heath Ledger killing it in his role. R.I.P Heath Ledger! Another great scene is the one where Cameron's friend nearly cycles all the way down to the sports stadium. It was so bizarre and out of left field but great at the same time. Anyway, while this film isn't perfect it's different to your average high school romcom and makes you feel just whelmed. Definitely worth a watch.

Teen movies...dumb, pointless and stupid vulgar "I cant wait for sex" teens. But TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU was different. And here is why. 1) It had interesting characters/development 2) Didnt follow the basic teen plots. 3) Interesting humor 4) Good cast 5) Good ending 6) Went places unexpected 7) Doesn't map the movie around sex 8) Pary scenes that seem real and different than the normal pot parties. 9) Sub plots that made sense. 10) Just all around different. There you go. It's not CLUELESS, which is good, its not a sappy romance and its not too teenybopper. Liked it. A solid film

(Right off the bat, I'm reviewing this film as a stand-alone movie without any connection to Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew", which supposedly the film is based on. I've never read that particular play, but looking through the plot synopsis it bares only a passing resemblance to this flick...at least in my opinion. As such, I'll be reviewing based solely on the viewing experience.)

Though perhaps not my favorite genre of film, I can usually get into a teen romantic comedy/drama as long as it is done right. Despite being pretty much prime age (15) for this one when it first come out (1999), for some reason I had not (until now) seen the whole thing straight through. What I discovered after finally crossing it off my watch list is that "10 Things I Hate About You" is one of the most engaging, witty, emotional, and all-around best teen movies I have ever seen.

The plot of the movie can be a bit cumbersome to explain, but here are the basics: Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is the prettiest, most desired girl in high school. This certainly does not escape the eyes of new kid Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who desperately wants to take her out. The problem? Due to a very strict father (Larry Miller), Bianca is not allowed to date until sister Katarina (Julia Stiles) does, and Kat has no interest in high school culture (thus dating) whatsoever. As such, Cameron--with the help of pretty boy Joey (Andrew Keegan)--enlists the help of school bad boy Patrick (Heath Ledger) to woo Kat so he can have a shot at Bianca.

"10 Things" has a special energy to it that never wanes from beginning to end. It also expertly combines the stereotypical language/activities one is used to seeing in a teen movie (at least one from the late 90s!) while at the same time turning them on their head (usually via Kat's snarky remarks). Basically, it is the perfect combination of "fun" and "deep" (in that special way that only high school can be "deep").

Only helping matters, of course, is the incredible cast. I mean, just look at the above names! At the time most of these actors were relative unknowns, so that fact that most of them are established or legendary in the business today is quite an accomplishment.

About the only "ding" I give this movie is one area where it is a bit transparent: In the early goings, the film expects audiences to believe that: A. Stiles' character could never get a date; & B. Ledger's character is a true "bad boy". Neither of these things really work because Stiles is probably the most beautiful woman in the movie and Ledger is too handsome to really pull of "mysterious". Fortunately, the film doesn't require a total buy-in on this point (almost as if the filmmakers realized it themselves and didn't hit those characterizations so hard as the film went on), but for a while it is a bit ridiculous.

Overall, though, I was incredibly impressed by "10 Things I Hate About You" and actually kind of mad at myself for missing out on its greatness for so long! I have a relatively high "BS meter" when it comes to movies like this, but "10 Things" captured my interest from the get-go and never saw me wane. Perhaps this sounds a bit clichéd, but what "The Breakfast Club" is for 80s teens is similar to what "10 Things" accomplishes for the subsequent decade. That isn't a statement I make lightly, either.

Finally decided to watch 10 Things I Hate About You after seeing shorts here and there on social media. I'm usually not a huge fan of romcoms but a friend of mine told me I would probably like this one.

Well, I can tell you this one's on my comfort film-list! As an adult I actually really liked this slightly more teenage oriented film. I think that's mainly because the main component was comedy and the drama was brought in a more light way while still having just enough to feel compassion for the characters. It covers relatable topics during high school and is fun, heartbreaking and heartwarming to watch all the way through. Usually with (teenage) romcoms the drama is overdone, storylines are way too farfetched or characters are too exaggerated and although we are seeing stereotypes and are dealing with the standard teenage experiences, the filmmakers did a great job at finding the perfect sweet spot.

Based on the stereotypes of the characters the casting was spot on too. And it was so cute to see young Joseph Gordon-Levitt! While most people seem to know Heath Ledger from this film, I only knew him as the iconic Joker up until now. I was curious to see how he would be in a more "normal" role and wow, I knew he was weirdly charismatic as the Joker but as Patrick he seems to carry another, pleasant type of charisma. It remains painful to know we have lost such an immense talent.

There's a small part of me that wishes I had seen 10 Things I Hate About You during high school. I can see how it's such a huge hit for especially that age group. But as they say, better late than never! I understand from other reviews that the storyline is also parallel with some of Shakespeare's work. I'm not that familiar with it but it sure is a cool thing to know.

Since teenage romcoms are more predictable and almost similar in general, I wouldn't go higher than a 7 within this genre. So, based on my standards for review 10 Things I Hate About You gets a solid 7! For its genre, it's the best and most fun I've seen.

I'm not going to argue with teenagers. This is a stereotypical teen movie filled with every cliché that the genre uses. And of course there are a lot of teen movies filled with those same clichés simply because they work for their target audience. This one clearly works with the target audience. It has a good rating. So be it. But my warning: if you're not a teen, please avoid this.

I didn't find it funny or fresh or original. It's the same basic plot that gets respun over and over: kids (some cool and some not) desperately trying to fit in, and somehow in the midst of it all finding love in the most unexpected places. It didn't do anything for me - but then again, I'm not a teen. In fact, I wasn't really a teen even when I was a teen! So I'm definitely not the target audience. And maybe that's the reason that I spent a good part of this movie wondering about the title. What 10 things? I didn't really make the connection between the title of the movie and the content of the movie. It's like someone just made up a title out of thin air because it sounded cute or funny or something. But what did it have to do with the actual movie?

It's not a bad cast, but you really have to be into this kind of movie to enjoy it. I'm not, and I didn't. It has two or three mildly humorous and/or heartwarming moments. The father/daughter talk near the end of the movie as Mr. Stratford finally lets go of Kat was basically THE heartwarming moment of the movie, and it actually worked quite well, and so left me with a bit of a more generous reaction than I might otherwise have had. Still, though, I can't honestly say that I enjoyed this in any way, shape or form. (2/10)