# 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

### reviewed by
Craig Roush

    10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU

    ** 1/2 (out of 4) - an enjoyable movie

Release Date: March 31, 1999 Starring: Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, Larry Miller Directed by: Gil Junger Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures MPAA Rating: PG-13 (crude sex-related humor and dialogue and alcohol and drug-related scenes all involving teens) URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1999/10things.htm

Good ol' William Shakespeare. Ya gotta give the guy credit.

First, he's an awfully prolific writer, turning out more performances than Mel Brooks. Second, he writes romantic poetry that is the envy of any man who's ever wooed a woman. (And we're not talking about any old "one fish two fish red fish blue fish" junk; we're talking about sonnets the length of a Bible that nobody understands but everyone pretends to.) And third, people still read his stuff today, and, on the outside, they make a couple movies about it now and then.

The latest of these is an adaptation of the Bard's romantic comedy, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, otherwise known as veteran TV director Gil Junger's 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU. Interestingly enough, the movie has a twofold purpose, which hints at an intelligence not normally found in teen comedies such as this. First, Junger's film begs to be stood against Shakespearean movies which display a mastery of the English language and use to inspire laughter, tears, and thought. Second, Junger's film begs to be stood against the trite genre of the teen romance, which boasts unworthy competition like SHE'S ALL THAT and ROMEO + JULIET. In both respects, the movie makes great strides.

In regards to the first of the two marks, the script is written not only intelligently and articulately, but also with a story to tell. The Karen Lutz and Kirsten Smith script takes a straightforward romantic idea -- girl can't date unless undesireable sister does, boy interested in girl hires other boy to date sister, other boy and sister fall in love -- and front-loads it with clever English. Unlike 1996's ROMEO + JULIET, however, the movie does not distract with such poetic dialogue; instead, it adds to the movie's value as a witty comedy. And wit is most definitely the best way to present a teen romance.

The teen romance -- the second of the two areas for 10 THINGS to cover -- is also better than usual. Our boy Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who's really a wimp for most of the movie) is interested in the lovely Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik), but Bianca can't date unless her less-than-desireable sister Kat (Julia Stiles) does. So Cameron, with the help of his friend Michael (David Krumholtz), goes about hiring a date for Kat. They succeed in getting outcast Patrick Verona (Heath Legder), and thus the plot is in motion. The plot itself does not make the movie succeed, but instead, the fresh approach does. New faces outweight the clichés (like the oily KARATE KID-esque villain or the predictable falling-out between Kat and Patrick), and almost every actor present has talent.

So 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU succeeds at both of the paths it tries, and for this it's a most welcome entry into contemporary cinema. Definitely a worthwhile flick, and definitely the best date flick of the year thus far.

    all contents © 1999 Craig Roush

    --
    Craig Roush
    kinnopio@execpc.com
    --
    Kinnopio's Movie Reviews
    http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio

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