10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU RATING: 7 / 10 --> Good movie
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Hmmm...okay, let's take a classic tale from William Shakespeare, since he's "hot" right now: "The Taming of the Shrew" (Note: When said real fast, the title of this film may actually sound like it too!). Toss it the kids' way by involving a couple of good-looking leads, some hipper than thou music, a high school setting, and one of the worst movie titles of the year, and you've got the tale of girl who nobody desired, and who in turn, desired no one. Better all-around movie than SHE'S ALL THAT (6.5/10) and NEVER BEEN KISSED (6/10).
PLOT: Two diametrically opposed sisters, the younger being cute and outgoing, the older reserved and independent, live under the rule of their strict father who will not let the young one go out on a date until the older one gets a date herself, which she is adamantly against. But halt, alas, here is a mighty prince being paid a hefty compensation to attempt to date the "unapproachable" girl by a weasel who wants to "nail" the younger one. And what about the sweet kid who really does love the younger sibling? Find out!
CRITIQUE: Light, safe, enjoyable little tale of the teenage world, boasts a couple of charming and utterly convincing performances from its two stars, quite a few chuckle-as-you-go-along jokes, and a surprisingly believable component of depth within a few well-developed movie characters. Okay, so it's not perfect, I mean it still has a couple of the one-dimensional players that we find in all teenage flicks, along with the proverbially boring ritual of one guy introducing another to the various cliques in a high school (Wow, what a concept!), but overall, it plays well because of its non-stop pace, the interesting relationship between the sisters, and most of all, the enjoyable and engaging performances by stars-to-be Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles.
Little sister, Larisa Oleynik, also played her cutesy role to a tee, even managing to add some credibility to her first-thought-of-as-one-dimensional role. There were also plenty of romantic scenes in this movie, which are sure to set any girl's eyes a-flutter (Mrs. JoBlo almost fluttered her way out of her seat during the touching serenade in the soccer field scene). Having said that, I think that I could have done without another "prom scene" or some of the out-of-place eighties tunes playing during a party of sixteen year olds (Do any of them even know who the Thompson Twins are??), but all in all, this film managed to hook me into its net of romance, fluff, comedy and teenage shenanigans. Mix that in with an utterly entertaining presentation by the way of the overly cautious father, Larry Miller, and the funniest teacher to hit the big screen in a long while, Daryl "Chill" Mitchell, and you've got yourself a pleasant time at the movie garage, or a decent nite of home video. Either way, don't forget the nachos and your better half.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: (Some facts gathered from the IMDb) Several names reflect the Shakespearean origin of this movie. Bianca's and Katerina's last name is Stratford (Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon). Patrick's last name is Verona (birthplace of Petruchio, the corresponding character from the play). The high school is called Padua, which is the city in which the play is set. Groovy, eh? Actress Julia Stiles was born in New York City on March 28, 1981. Actor Heath Ledger was born in Perth, Australia on the 4th of April, 1979. He starred in a film called BLACK ROCK, which was nominated for Best Australian picture in 1997. This is director Gil Junger's first feature film. He has directed many TV shows before, including "Dharma & Greg", "Living Single" and "Ellen". He was nominated for an Emmy for directing the infamous episode of "Ellen" in which she revealed herself to be Lebanese...I mean, a lesbian! :) The man who played the funny teacher, Daryl "Chill" Mitchell was part of a Hip-Hop group from the 80's known as Groove B. Chill. He played the character of "Chill" in both HOUSE PARTY movies. Larisa Oleynik considers actress Claire Danes and Winona Ryder as her role models. She and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are both on TV's "3rd Rock from the Sun".
Review Date: April 13, 1999
Director: Gil Junger
Writers: Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith
Producer: Andrew Lazar
Actors: Julia Stiles as Katarina Stratford
Heath Ledger as Patrick Verona
Larisa Oleynik as Bianca Stratford
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cameron James
Genre: Comedy
Year of Release: 1999
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
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