10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

A film that will never get old, no matter how many years pass from its making.

Based vaguely on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew but set in a modern high school, 10 Things circles around two sisters, Kat and Bianca, whose strict father does not allow them to date. Upon discovering that his eldest, Kat (Julia Stiles), doesn’t want to date at all, he sets a new rule in the house: Bianca can date when Kat does. Once the new boy at school, Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and the popular jock out to collect notches on his bedpost Joey (Andrew Keegan) who both have their eye on Bianca hear about this new rule, they convince notorious bad-boy Patrick (Heath Ledger) to take out Kat so that they can date Bianca.

The film has been a favourite since I saw it, which, sadly, was not back in ’99. I saw the film first at school when I was 16 when we were studying Shakespeare and as a treat at the end of term we got to watch this. And I have to say I fell in love with it right from the off. It is sarcastic, funny and rather accurate when it comes to high school (even though it is beautifully over-the-top with many aspects).

The acting is incredible, from all parties. And the script is written in such a way as to make the characters stereotypical but not thoroughly annoying: Bianca is the typical good-girl-virgin-favourite-daughter character, but isn’t as air-headed or emotionless as she is made out to be at the beginning, Kat is the kick-ass-take-no-shit character that you either love or hate, who has a secret that puts a lot of her characteristics into perspective. I love her because I’m like her, but you know, to each their own. Cameron is the love-sick-pining-new-kid character but he’s not an idiot, and he stops pining pretty quickly. He also has some of the best dialogue with Patrick (the guy-always-in-trouble) who has some of the most hilarious and ridiculous rumors spread about him but seriously doesn’t care.

The music is one that brings those born in the 90s back to their childhood. Not sure how anyone else takes it since I’m a 90s child. It fits well and works with the genre (which, for all intents and purposes, is a silly high-school romcom) and works as one of the characters as well as the baseline for this genius little film.

I recommend this film to anyone. Yes, anyone. This includes guys. Sure, it’s a film meant for girls, because there’s kissing and stuff (eeeeeew) but it is clever, it is funny and it’s so much more than a typical high-school smoochfest. I know guys who like it, and they also like kick-ass movies like Die Hard so their masculinity is not in question. I’d go as far as to give this film an 8/10 for just being goddamn awesome. But feel free to challenge me in this rating, by watching the film.

Back to the Midnight Screening