10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Being a ’90s kid, I was brought up watching the modern Shakespeare movies before I learned the original stories. It certainly helped when I was called upon to study the difficult texts in drama class, let me tell you. I’d seen 10 Things I Hate About You, O, and She’s the Man a dozen times each before I’d been forced to read The Taming of the Shrew, Othello, or As You Like It.
It’s very hard to pick a favorite, but if I must, the award goes to 10 Things. It’s so fantastically clever and inventive, and it’s so funny, I split my sides every time I’ve watched it the past twenty years. Larry Miller steals the show, playing the girls’ protective father. Every line out of his mouth is hilarious and true. His character is an obstetrician who constantly sees the mistakes young girls make with their wild behavior, so he keeps his daughters close to home. “What are the two house rules? One: No dating ’til you graduate. Two: No dating ’til you graduate.” His older daughter, Julia Stiles (playing Katarina), doesn’t mind because she has no interest in immature, hormone-driven boys. His younger daughter, Larisa Oleynik (playing Bianca), can’t stand the rule. She’s popular and enjoys flirting, so when the new rule is lifted and replaced by another she’s thrilled. The only catch is her sister has to date before she does. In Shakespeare’s world, Katharina has to get married before Bianca can accept a proposal from her many admirers, so the young boys decide to pay a daring guy to pursue “the shrew”. In this version, Heath Ledger is the paid suitor, the bad boy on campus with a reputation for the ridiculous, like spending the past year in prison and selling his own liver on the black market.
Filmed at the beautiful Stadium High School in Seattle, this Nineties teen flick would be great in its own right, but all the large and small tie-ins with Shakespeare make it one of the best movies from the time period. Direct quotes like “I burn, I pine, I perish!” are included, and Julia’s best friend, Susan May Pratt is “involved” with Shakespeare and hangs his portrait in her locker.
Instead of the mother’s death, she abandoned her family years ago, which adds to Larry’s motivation to keep his daughters close. In a class assignment from Daryl Mitchell, the students have to write a sonnet in iambic pentameter. Even the family names are Stratford and Verona, and the school is called Padua High. Down to the last detail, this movie will help even the most ignorant of Shakespeare students remember tidbits of the original play. Believe me.
Julia and Heath have that perfect “grunge” of the turn of the century, and Larisa and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have the sweet innocence that make a perfect foil and help inspire love and hope where cynicism previously lived. Alison Janney is the school counselor, and while she has a realistic disinterest in children, she shocks everyone by letting her attitude hang out. She flips off students, tells kids to get out of her office, and even lets Julia know that her peers call her a “heinous b***h”. Gabrielle Union starred in her own Taming of the Shrew film two years later (Deliver Us Unto Eva) but in this one she plays Bianca’s friend. To prove they talk about deep issues, they discuss the difference between like and love. Bianca likes her Skechers but loves her Prada backpack. “But I love my Skechers,” Gabrielle insists. Larisa’s insightful reply: “That’s because you don’t have a Prada backpack.”
David Krumholtz is Joey’s friend and wingman, and he has the important job of steering the plot. He shows Joey around school on his first day and introduces all the characters, dubbing Julia “the shrew”, and suggests they hire Heath so Joey can date Larisa. But Larry Miller really steals the show. He happily keeps his daughters under lock and key while he can so he can enjoy “the deep slumber of a father whose daughters aren’t out being impregnated.” When they finally go to their first party, he lists off all the outrageous activities he doesn’t want them to do. Gabrielle tries to calm him down, insisting it’s just a party. “And hell is just a sauna,” he replies. I could quote the whole movie, but I’ve seen it a million times. If you can’t quote the whole movie, it’s time you saw it again.
More Heath Ledger movies here!
More Julia Stiles movies here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 1968's The Taming of the Shrew here!
It’s very hard to pick a favorite, but if I must, the award goes to 10 Things. It’s so fantastically clever and inventive, and it’s so funny, I split my sides every time I’ve watched it the past twenty years. Larry Miller steals the show, playing the girls’ protective father. Every line out of his mouth is hilarious and true. His character is an obstetrician who constantly sees the mistakes young girls make with their wild behavior, so he keeps his daughters close to home. “What are the two house rules? One: No dating ’til you graduate. Two: No dating ’til you graduate.” His older daughter, Julia Stiles (playing Katarina), doesn’t mind because she has no interest in immature, hormone-driven boys. His younger daughter, Larisa Oleynik (playing Bianca), can’t stand the rule. She’s popular and enjoys flirting, so when the new rule is lifted and replaced by another she’s thrilled. The only catch is her sister has to date before she does. In Shakespeare’s world, Katharina has to get married before Bianca can accept a proposal from her many admirers, so the young boys decide to pay a daring guy to pursue “the shrew”. In this version, Heath Ledger is the paid suitor, the bad boy on campus with a reputation for the ridiculous, like spending the past year in prison and selling his own liver on the black market.
Filmed at the beautiful Stadium High School in Seattle, this Nineties teen flick would be great in its own right, but all the large and small tie-ins with Shakespeare make it one of the best movies from the time period. Direct quotes like “I burn, I pine, I perish!” are included, and Julia’s best friend, Susan May Pratt is “involved” with Shakespeare and hangs his portrait in her locker.
Instead of the mother’s death, she abandoned her family years ago, which adds to Larry’s motivation to keep his daughters close. In a class assignment from Daryl Mitchell, the students have to write a sonnet in iambic pentameter. Even the family names are Stratford and Verona, and the school is called Padua High. Down to the last detail, this movie will help even the most ignorant of Shakespeare students remember tidbits of the original play. Believe me.
Julia and Heath have that perfect “grunge” of the turn of the century, and Larisa and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have the sweet innocence that make a perfect foil and help inspire love and hope where cynicism previously lived. Alison Janney is the school counselor, and while she has a realistic disinterest in children, she shocks everyone by letting her attitude hang out. She flips off students, tells kids to get out of her office, and even lets Julia know that her peers call her a “heinous b***h”. Gabrielle Union starred in her own Taming of the Shrew film two years later (Deliver Us Unto Eva) but in this one she plays Bianca’s friend. To prove they talk about deep issues, they discuss the difference between like and love. Bianca likes her Skechers but loves her Prada backpack. “But I love my Skechers,” Gabrielle insists. Larisa’s insightful reply: “That’s because you don’t have a Prada backpack.”
David Krumholtz is Joey’s friend and wingman, and he has the important job of steering the plot. He shows Joey around school on his first day and introduces all the characters, dubbing Julia “the shrew”, and suggests they hire Heath so Joey can date Larisa. But Larry Miller really steals the show. He happily keeps his daughters under lock and key while he can so he can enjoy “the deep slumber of a father whose daughters aren’t out being impregnated.” When they finally go to their first party, he lists off all the outrageous activities he doesn’t want them to do. Gabrielle tries to calm him down, insisting it’s just a party. “And hell is just a sauna,” he replies. I could quote the whole movie, but I’ve seen it a million times. If you can’t quote the whole movie, it’s time you saw it again.
More Heath Ledger movies here!
More Julia Stiles movies here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 1968's The Taming of the Shrew here!