Review of 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) by Noah Abraham G — 16 Oct 2012

I've never read "The Taming of the Shrew", but I assure you that it's on my to do list, along with watching the Godfather films. From what little I know of the play, it's a pretty sexist affair, which is why this film probably improves on its source material (Shakespearean wit not withstanding).

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Cameron James, the new kid at Padua Stadium High School. On a tour with AV nerd Micheal (David Krumholtz), Cameron spies the object of his affection: Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik). Unfortunately, Bianca's father (the always-awesome Larry Miller) has decided that Bianca can't date until her older sister, Kat (Julia Stiles), does. This is a problem, as Kat has a reputation of being a bit of a... well, a shrew. Cameron and Micheal have nearly given up hope until they discover a man with no fear, Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), a man so hardcore that he allegedly sold his own liver for cigarettes. Hilarity ensues.

The characters are all rather well-written, if not fully developed. It's interesting to note how all of them seem to be selfishly motivated in some way or another, although not the extent of the film's villain, Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan), a typical male airhead. The film is populated with interesting side teachers, especially the school staff. In no universe would a guidance counselor like Ms. Percy (Allison Janney) or a teacher like Mr. Morgan (Daryl Mitchell) be allowed near these children. But then again, how often do we see Shakespeare plays in real life?

The film is quite funny, which is rather important for a comedy. Most of the jokes land, and the actors don't oversell it. Particularly great is Larry Miller as the overprotective father; sure, half the things he says are rather outlandish, but they're never beyond the realm of human comprehension. We can understand WHY someone MIGHT think that way, even though they never will. I think that's the key to the film's success; it's an outrageous comedy that remains grounded, which allows it to have a real heart.

Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles also have really good chemistry together and, really, isn't that what matters in a romantic comedy? Gordon-Levitt and Oleynik have chemistry too, but they don't matter as much. Both romances work, however, and there are a few cute scenes between the people. Also, they actually filmed this movie in Washington! Get it together, Twilight!

The film isn't perfect, naturally. Some of the characters are a bit shallow, and honestly, was there any suspense about how it ends?

All in all, it's pretty fun and a nice movie. Also, seriously. They filmed it in Washington. How cool is that?!