Ugh

I am a sucker for Shakespeare adaptations but this one doesn't quite make the grade. Transplanting Romeo & Juliet to a modern high school makes some kind of sense since the original protagonists were teenagers as well. Their parents are not warring families, but opponents for the post of the city's mayor. Fine enough so far, this idea can actually work, like the sharp, witty and irreverent '10 Things I Hate About You'.

Unfortunately the mediocrity and the cheesiness of a typical high school romance drama overtake the story. Petty intrigues, shallow characters and cliches abound. The last ten minutes are especially painful due to a couple of ridiculous plot devices used by the writers that are so patently transparent that I felt insulted. Only an eight your old could be fooled by them, which is essentially what happens in the movie. Overall, this grand story of love is reduced to the level of a cheap television soap. I'd just stay away.

5/10