The cult classic teen comedy turns 25 this year.
Hello, and welcome to a new series (hopefully), where I review films that my lovely girlfriend of five years chooses for us to watch. Most of the time these will be films that I would have never watched without her, but sometimes they’ll just be movies that she’s a lot more enthusiastic about than I am. I’d like to say that I’m open to watching pretty much anything, and I’m always happy to watch whatever she has in mind, even if I know it’s not really going to be my thing. I’m not here to bash movies that were never made for someone like me to enjoy in the first place!
First up we have 10 Things I Hate About You. Full disclosure, I think I saw this movie about a decade ago, but my memory of it was non-existent barring some foggy recollection of a scene with Heath Ledger singing on a set of bleachers. The movie turned twenty-five this year though, which prompted a worthwhile re-watch.
Adapted from Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew,’ 10 Things I Hate About You is a comedy coming of age film set in the fantasy land of Seattle, where every teenager owns a car and lives in three-story cape cods and attends a school fancier than Xavier’s mansion and nobody ever questions their complicity in being a part of the upper class, not even Patrick ‘Trailer Trash’ Verona (Heath Ledger), who I still don’t know if he was actually poor, or if that was a misconception held by the rest of the school.
I’m going to describe the premise of the movie, now. Deep breath. 10 Things I Hate About You centres around Kat (Julia Stiles), an apparently-dislikeable-for-being-opinionated teenage girl whose father forbids her and her younger sister, Bianca (Larissa Oleynik), from dating, which is a problem, because Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who has just moved to the school, has a huge crush on Bianca, but Bianca likes Joey the Jock (Andrew Keegan), so Cameron devises a plan — thinking Bianca likes him — to manipulate Joey to pay misfit Patrick Verona (Ledger) several hundred dollars to try and get Kat to go out with him so that Bianca, in turn, is allowed to go on date with… with… wait, let me start over! I forgot to mention Michael! And Chastity! And the English teacher!
Thankfully, the movie is self-aware enough to have fun with its huge cast of characters, and well-written enough to have them each feel distinctly funny. This movie is hilarious, and bar one or two hiccups to be expected from a 90’s teen comedy, has aged exceptionally well. The performances here are nothing short of fantastic. Heath Ledger rightfully gets endless praise for his portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight, but he absolutely nails the role of Verona here.
Julia Stiles is similarly excellent. My only criticism is that because she’s so good, it’s tough to reconcile that with the movie’s narrative that she’s supposed to be too annoying to be likeable. How could you not like her? She’s smart, she stands her ground, and doesn’t suffer fools. I also want to give a particular shout-out to David Krumholtz, who plays Cameron’s friend Michael, for making me laugh the most consistently with his pitch perfect comedic timing.
If my years on film-Twitter have taught me anything, it’s that this movie is generally thought to be something of a ‘vibe’ in certain film circles. I can certainly see why. The film has a really strong aesthetic — most of it stemming from the distinctive and clashing styles of the two sisters. One’s edgy and misunderstood, the other perfect-popular. From set decoration and costuming down to the smallest of plot-inconsequential props the characters interact with in their ‘free time’, every decision reveals an element of character.
Not only does this make for an enduring look, but more importantly, it’s great storytelling.
If I have any issue with the movie, it’s something I half-alluded to earlier. It’s less a problem I have with 10 Things in particular, and more a roadblock to enjoyment I have with this genre of film in general. The problem is that this romanticised version of American high school so little resembles anything I have seen in real life that it becomes difficult to suspend my disbelief.
Nothing about this film feels real or attempts to capture the inane drudgery I think most of us endured during our secondary educations. And I know that this is supposed to be a funny, light-hearted film — and I’m glad that it is — but sometimes funny films about high schools feel a little a paradox to me. I can appreciate that there can be an immense sense of catharsis and escapism in movies like this for some, but it’s just a genre I just can’t seem to gel with.
Also, what is up with the title? 10 Things I Hate About You? It’s taken from the poem Kat writes about Patrick and, well, let me show you (my notes are in bold and italics):
I hate the way you talk to me (that’s 1 thing) and the way you cut your hair (2)
I hate the way you drive my car (3), I hate it when you stare (4).
I hate your big dumb combat boots (5), and the way you read my mind (6).
I hate you so much it makes me sick. It even makes me rhyme.
I hate it. (I’m being generous and not counting these lines because they’re technically not things she hates about Patrick)
I hate the way you’re always right (7),
I hate it when you lie (8),
I hate it when you make me laugh (9),
even worse when you make me cry (10).
I hate it when you’re not around (11),
And the fact that you didn’t call (12),
But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you (13),
Not even close, not even a little bit,
Not even at all…
Just call it 13 Things I Hate About You! Why give me a number if it’s going to be the wrong number?
Ahem.
10 Things I Hate About You is a wonderful movie. The performances are both funny and endearing (I didn’t even talk about baby Joseph Gordon-Levitt! He’s adorable!). The filmmaking is clever (keep an eye out for all the visual gags in the background), the script is paced to perfection, and if you don’t laugh at all during this movie, you might want to track down who you might’ve accidentally sold your soul to.
Happy twenty-five years to this movie and thank you to my girlfriend for getting us to watch it. (It was either this or The Princess Diaries, so fair chance you’ll be seeing a review of that one soon..)
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