10 Things I Hate About You is a fairly basic teen love story, but with the added twist of Shakespeare and some good comedic acting.
The story is based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. It is about two sisters, one very popular, Bianca Stratford (played by Larisa Oleynik) and the other, Katrina, or "Kat" (played by Julia Stiles) hated because of her gruff character. Their overbearing father (played by the hilarious Larry Miller), devises a scheme whereby Bianca cannot date until rebellious Katrina does, which seems an impossibility. Thereby is set up a scheme to pair Katrina off with the roguish Patrick Verona. One of the masterminds of this plot is Cameron James (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a newcomer to Padua high, where the movie takes place. The other is his assistant of sorts, Michael Eckman (played by David Khumoltz).
Though somewhat predictable, especially if you have read Taming of the Shrew, it is an interesting light diversion. The dialogue is quite well done, intertwining a word or phrase from Shakespeare with modern teen slang. Other odes to Shakespeare are seen in Kat's friend who idolizes him as if he is a teen heartthrob, plus reading of his works in one Kat's classes. The timing in the dialogue is also very Shakespearean (for a comedy). It's Very rapid fire. I think both David Khumoltz and Larry Miller are amazingly funny!
Overall, this is not your typical shallow teen romance movie, but can appeal to anyone who enjoys witty dialogue, and many literary references.
The DVD is unremarkable. It has a good DD 5.1 soundtrack driven by a nice selection of alternative rock Letters from Clio had several cameos, but I believe they mainly played cover tunes, not their own stuff. The DVD does not contain any special features.
When I first saw previews for this movie, I thought that it looked alright, and that it was just another movie like Can't Hardly Wait and She's All That. Since I found those movies entertaining, I decided to watch it. When I finished the movie, I was completly blown away. The movie was nothing as I had expected it would be. The plot was so much better than all of those other teenage movies. This movie has everything: a good script, hysterical jokes, great acting, even a good soundtrack. Heath Ledger played Patrick Verona, a typical tough guy, and it's so fun to watch his tough exterior dissapear to reveal a sensitive loving guy. Julia Stiles does a wonderful portrayal of Kat Stratford, a sarcastic teenage girl trying her hardest not to fit in. Her sister Bianca is also well cast, played by Larissa Olyenick. The contrast between these two sisters is hysterical. Cameron, a sweet guy, is played by Joesph Gordon-Levitt, and you can't help but smile at his innocence ("She kissed me! ...In the car!")This movie follows the lives of these wonderful characters, and you will come to love each of them. Even all of the smaller parts are well acted and funny, such as the Stratford sisters uptight father, the hysterical guidance counselor Ms. Perky, and all of the other high school students. One of the best things about this movie is how true it is. Walk into any high school, and you will feel like you have just walked into Padua, their school. ("Those are your basic beautiful people...don't talk to them unless they talk to you first.") It is very rare to find a movie that has so much humor. Give this movie a chance, I'm glad I did...I could probably recite the whole movie by heart.
Buy 10 Things I Hate About You (10th Anniversary Edition) (1999) Now
The movie is based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. It is about two sisters Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) and Katarina "Kat" Stratford (Julia Stiles). Bianca is the popular sister who wants to start dating a popular boy, Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan)and Kat is the social outcast. Trying to keep his daughters from dating for fear they may get pregnant, their paranoid father (Larry Miller) makes a family rule where Bianca cannot date until Kat does, which seems impossible. New kid Cameron (Joseph Gordon Levitt) has a huge crush on Bianca and, thinking Bianca likes him in return and wants to date him, he and his friend Michael Eckman (David Khumoltz) devises a scheme where they try to pair Kat off with the school "Bad Boy" Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger).
By reading the basic plot above, you probably think this is just another Teen Flick? Well, though technically a teen flick, it lacks the shallowness that other movies of this genre have. With witty dialogue, some very funny physical stunts, some great acting, and a hip soundtrack headlined by Letters To Cleo, this film is a definate must own.
As for the DVD, for people with 5.1 Surround Sound, this movie is perfect! However, it is very disappointing in the extras department. The ONLY thing this DVD has is the theatrical trailer for the movie. So unless you really, REALLY want to own the theatrical trailer for the movie, I suggest you save your money and go for the VHS version instead.
Read Best Reviews of 10 Things I Hate About You (10th Anniversary Edition) (1999) Here
In 1999, the film "10 Things I Hate About You" which was is based on William Shakespeare's play "The Taming of the Shrew" was adapted to a teen comedy film by screenwriters Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith (both who wrote "Legally Blonde", "The Ugly Truth", "The House Bunny" and "Ella Enchanted") and featured first time film director Gil Junger (known for directing TV shows "Ellen", "According to Jim" and "Hope and Faith").
The film would be appreciated as a teen romantic comedy and since the film's debut is considered among the top 10 teen romantic comedy films out there and the film is known to be the launching point for the director, the screenwriters and the film that would launch the careers of Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger.
The popularity of the film now reaching it's tenth year anniversary has recently generated a television series on ABC Family and now a 10th Anniversary Blu-ray release.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"10 Things I Hate About You: 10th Anniversary Edition" receives its first entry to Blu-ray. Presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1), the film looks great! At first, I was a little worried when the stock footage of Seattle was grainy but once you see the film, you can't help but be happy about the detail. You can see the skin pores of the people, details on the walls and surroundings. Some scenes are vibrant and colorful, there is a fine layer of grain on the film, blacks are nice and deep and picture quality that is much better than its DVD counterpart.
As for audio quality, the film is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and in French, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. The film is front and center channel driven. Dialogue and music are clear but for the most part, the lossless soundtrack works for the film. I was hoping that with the crowd scenes, those sounds would be heard on the surround channels but I really didn't hear too much surround channel usage or even anything from the subwoofer.
Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"10 Things I Hate About You: 10th Anniversary Edition" comes with the following special features featured in 1080p or 480i, English 2.0 Dolby Digital with English SDH, French or Spanish subtitles. Included are:
* 10 Things I Love About 10 Things I Hate About You 10 Years Later (35:05) Ten years after the film's initial debut, director Gil Junger, and writers Kirsten Smith and Karen Lutz reflect and hear the story about how this classic teen comedy came to be. Featuring never-before-seen behind the scenes footage, original cast interviews, deleted scenes, original screen test and personal photos from the writers' scrap books.
* Audio Commentary with co-writers Karen Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and stars Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, Larisa Oleynik and Susan May Pratt An entertaining commentary with the writers and cast reflecting their past working on the film and working with members of cast and crew. Also, jokes and hilarious things that happened behind-the-scenes. Also, everyone talks about their memories of Heath Ledger on the set and auditions. For fans of the film, listening to this audio commentary makes this release so much worth it!
It's important to note that "deleted scenes" are mentioned on back of the package are found on the "10 Things I Love About 10 Things I Hate About You 10 Years Later" featurette.
JUDGMENT CALL:
I can easily remember when the original DVD was released and how badly I wanted it. "10 Things I Hate About You" was in my mind, the best non rated-R teen romantic film. Although "American Pie" was the more popular teen film of that year (the year also featured my other favorite PG-13 teen romance film "She's All That"), "10 Things I Hate About You" was a film I enjoyed because of its sincerity, everyone seemed to click well with each other and the screenplay never had to go the route of being perverted. Also, that poem by Kat at the end of the film is absolutely classic!
But here we are ten years later and "10 Things I Hate About You" is a pretty enjoyable film that still holds up today. But I know the big question for many people is if its worth upgrading from the DVD to the Blu-ray version? My answer is "YES!". The picture quality is much better than its original DVD counterpart but for those who loved the film, the two special features are just worth watching.
The audio commentary is just absolutely hilarious and for the most part, it's like reuniting with old friends again and hearing stories that happened behind-the-scenes of filming to the hotel parties that the cast would have and just the shenanigans that took place and how respectful they were in remember Heath Ledger. The audio commentary was fantastic!
I would have loved more special features to be included but considering that the original DVD had no special features at all, I'm glad that at least we get two special features for this 10th anniversary edition and the two are very entertaining.
Overall, "10 Things I Hate About You: 10th Anniversary Edition" is a fantastic release for fans of the film. The DVD may not have a lot of bells and whistles as I would have hoped but for the most part, this Blu-ray release is definitely an improved upgrade over the 1999 DVD and the audio commentary, again...hilarious and all-out-fun.
If you are a hardcore fan, a person who enjoyed this film or someone that is curious about this release, "10 Things I Hate About You: 10th Anniversary Edition" is definitely recommended!
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I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. "Ten Things I Hate About You" is VERY LOOSELY based on William Shakespeare's comedic masterpiece, "The Taming of the Shrew." The film is set in a modern day high school. Kat (Julia Stiles) is an angry teenage girl who seems to loathe all men. Her younger sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is a popular girl who can't wait to immerse herself in the dating scene. Unfortunately for Bianca, her overprotective father (Larry Miller) is incredibly paranoid and doesn't want to see either of his daughters come within 50 feet of a member of the opposite sex. In order to pacify Bianca's constant complaints, her father finally concedes that he'll lift the dating ban as soon as man-hater Kat shoes an interest in boys, which is unlikely to happen in the near future. Once Bianca's potential beau (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) finds out about this, he hires a mysterious classmate, Patrick (Heath Ledger), to feign an interest in Kat and loosen her up, thereby freeing up Bianca to date. At first Patrick is happy to oblige, but he is stunned when he begins to develop feelings for Kat, who isn't always as cold and collected as she appears to be.
This movie is very entertaining. As a big "Taming of the Shrew" fan, I really enjoyed the occasional snippets of Shakespearean dialogue. This film does an excellent job of reinventing Shakespeare in a very modern way. Also, the young cast is talented and fun to watch. Stiles and Ledger have good chemistry together and make a very cute onscreen couple. Overall, I was very impressed!
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"Everything we said at the shop is actually happening! Whoever we make eye contact with is gonna kill themselves, then come back as zemons and kill us...via hickeys" Casper Galloway (Bostick) is a teenager who is very shy and jumpy due to what happened to him as a kid. When his grandfather (Lloyd) asks him to watch his store he is very afraid. After a group of kids from school show up Casper tries to kick them out until an urn breaks, thinking the warnings are a joke they begin to come up with ideas of what a curse would be. Then they realize its not a joke at all. This is a very very funny movie, but it is mainly stupid humor. I really liked it and laughed a lot but I don't think everyone will find it as funny as I did. For example the plot of the movie involves being killed by getting a hickey from a half zombie-half demon. The writing is funny and the acting is good for a movie like this. There really isn't much else to say about this other then if you like movies with humor like Anchorman and Shaun Of The Dead then you will like this as well. Overall, very funny but not for everyone...also hearing Christopher Lloyd say "Great Scott" was amazing. I give it a B.
