Blu Ray/Movie Review: 10 Things I Hate About You (10th Anniversary Edition)

 

This is a light adaptation of Shakespeare's play "The Taming of the Shrew". The Shrew in this case being Kat Strattford (played by Julia Stiles). It is partly a coming-of-age comedy and partly a romantic comedy. The basic plot is that Joseph Gordon Levitt's character, Cameron, wants to date Kat's sister Bianca (played by Larisa Oleynik). Their overly protective father (played by Larry Miller) will only allow Bianca to date only when Kat does. Kat has little to no interest in dating, so he thinks the plan is foolproof. Cameron hires the high-school "bad boy" Patrick (played by Heath Ledger in his first major role) to take Kat out, believing he is the only one with the guts to do so, and of course, Patrick and Kat begin to fall for each other until things go off the rails.

The movie sports a strong supporting cast including Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, who pretty much steals every scene he is in, Gabrielle Union, Daryl Mitchell, who is great as the English teacher, and Allison Janney as the school guidance counselor/budding romance novelist. While the movie is somewhat predictable, it is pulled off very well. The movie is pretty well-written and very well acted, blending moody teen angst with teen comedy.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, there is a 35-minute tenth-anniversary look back at the movie that combines new and archival material including deleted scenes, vintage interviews, and Ledger's audition footage. There is also a commentary track on the movie with the writers as well as cast members Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, Larisa Oleynik, and Susan May Pratt that is definitely worth listening to.

Overall, the movie is very good. Ledger and Stiles both shine in their roles and everyone in the supporting cast had at least one good moment of screen time. It is a fun teen comedy that while predictable holds up well now even twenty years later.