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10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
9/26
9/26:
Forget The Taming of the Shrew; this one is so much
better, mainly by making easy to understand everybody's motivation.
10 Things I Hate About You is modern, fresh, and realistic. It's also not bombastic or misogynistic.
Julia Stiles is an all-time weak actress, and she was lucky to be handed this foolproof project that contained
brilliant writing, which is strangely an uncredited adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, and a
well-assembled cast.
As great as almost everybody is, there are three standouts: David Krumholtz, Andrew Keegan, and Larry Miller
who has played the same kind of character plenty of times to perfection. In the past, I was never sold on Heath
Ledger and regarded him a corny actor, but here, he certainly gives a fine performance.
If there's a misgiving, it shouldn't have been set in high school. The behaviors and the language are so
adult that college is much more appropriate. At first, the dialogue may sound pretentious in a
Clueless way, but it does become tolerable over time. I have to say that
I didn't get why the title until it was finally explained when Katarina read her poem aloud in the class
which happened so late.
All in all, 10 Things I Hate About You is a rare film with everything coming together seamlessly well.