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"What is it with this chick? She have beer-flavored nipples?"
First of all, I must state that I really detest watching bad sappy chick flicks that supply very limited laughs. But I'm a sucker for quality chick flicks. 10 Things I Hate About You comfortably sits in the 'quality chick flick' section.
The film is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew; changing the setting to a high school and changing the characters to typical teenage youths. It was always going to be a bold move to reinvent a Shakespeare play for contemporary audiences, but this film does an exceptional job and succeeds remarkably well.
Why do schools still study the works of Shakespeare many centuries after his death? It's simple - his stories are full of relevance but are wrapped in overly convoluted dialogue. Films like this allow modern audiences to understand Shakespeare's stories in language they can understand.
10 Things I Hate About You is about a young teen named Cameron (Gordon-Levitt) who is a newcomer to Padua High. Upon arrival he looks upon the girl of his dreams - Bianca Stratford (Oleynik). But he is told that she is off limits because her overprotective father forbids her to date. But Bianca will be allowed to date as soon as her sister Kat (Stiles) begins dating. The unfortunate fact is that Kat is a social mutant who doesn't get along with any human being.
But in a plan to get Kat dating and hence be able to date Bianca, Cameron and his friend Michael (Krumholtz) set up an elaborate plan. The plan is that they have someone pay bad boy Patrick (Ledger) to date Kat. From there, the film is actually really entertaining and quite hilarious at times.
Although there weren't a lot of laughs, I enjoyed the set we were presented with nonetheless. Like most chick flicks, the film can't seem to avoid all the typical clichés that surface in films of this genre.
The ending was predictable, albeit satisfying, but at least it's still a fun ride to take. Heath Ledger completely steals the show here. His character has a fascinating, thick accent (an Australian accent, that is) and it's obvious that Heath worked very hard to perfect his character. He's not very stereotypical, but instead something quite original.
As for Julia Stiles...well, I would be lying if I said I was a fan of her acting skills. Truth be told, I can't stand the woman. But here she ends up playing a character that's quite deep and a twist on your usual female teen.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt was another memorable addition to the cast. Although a reasonably small role, I'm pleased to report that he pulled it off quite well.
The script wasn't too bad. It's a chick flick romantic comedy so we can't expect Shakespeare (obvious sentence stupidity absolutely intended). There are a number of notable lines, some interesting characters, and only a limited number of clichés. Oh, and not to mention the disconcerting fact that all the "teens" looked in their mid-to-late 20s.
10 Things I Hate About You is a film I had very little interest in seeing, and hence my expectations were shockingly low. Thankfully I picked this one up and gave it a chance. I found it to be really enjoyable, refreshing and a lot of fun. The great music used throughout, including a number of popular songs, was a skilful way to top it all off.
For those of you who've studied the play, this film is an absolute must.
7/10
