Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 29-December-02
Spoiler Rating: Low

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

William Shakespeare was undoubtedly the greatest English-language wordsmith of all time, whose radiant prose and verse remain to this day an inspiration for dramatists, humorists, poets, and moviemakers alike. To study the linguistic and cultural translation of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" into our own latter-day idiom, I watched "10 Things I Hate About You," a version of the classic romantic comedy set in a modern high school and revolving around the lives of today's youth. When you consider the socio-political ramifications of hip hop culture --- Oh, all right, whom am I kidding? I rented the damn movie solely to gawk at Heath Ledger's abundant charms in full-blown, roguish, Aussie hunk mode. So sue me.

"10 Things I Hate About You" is strictly a teen flick, which necessarily means that it has a lively soundtrack and a denouement at the prom, as well as some truly asinine scenes (a dumb roster of high school stereotypes and a few irrelevant attempts at eccentric humor). Why is it that while other movies can earn a laugh using witty repartee or props or slapstick, teen movies always try to generate humor with wackiness? I mean, is Allison Janney (pre-success on "The West Wing") really funny as a school counselor writing a trashy soft core porn novel? Does hilarity ensue when a man gets shot in the butt with an arrow, or a fat, bald guy flips his exercise equipment into his neighbor's house? I think not. Also, it's a wee bit ironic, considering that the heroine of "10 Things I Hate About You" is all about bucking societal expectations, that just about every character is a complete cliché.

But methinks I am taking it all too seriously. Sure, this movie manages to impose all the standard-issue high school hijinks (kegger!) and goopy romantic conventions (win her heart with singing!) on top of a clever Shakespearean tale, and it maintains almost none of the linguistic ribaldry of the original, but the undeniable attractions of both Ledger and Julia Stiles are worth following once you get through the weak beginning. Both young actors --- up-and-comers then, stars now --- are cute, seem to be smarter than the script would suggest, and look great together, so what's to hate? The rest of the cast is dispensable, but these two charmers brought a tear to my eye before the curtain went down.

The story concerns two sisters who attend Padua High School in Seattle (an absolutely gorgeous location which is apparently a real school in nearby Tacoma). Kat (Stiles) is an independent-minded feminist with a well earned reputation for being a bitch, while younger Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is a Seventeen cover girl type who drives the boys wild with her girl-next-door appeal. The problem is, no one can date Bianca unless Kat is also dating --- a rule imposed on the girls by their father, who has an overblown fear of teenaged pregnancy and knows that Kat will find a beau when pigs can fly. This problem poses a challenge to innocent Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and the school stud Joey (Andrew Keegan), who both want to pursue Bianca. The solution, suggested by Cameron's comic sidekick (David Krumholtz), is to pay the mysterious new guy, Patrick Verona (Ledger), to ask Kat out, thus freeing up her sister. Of course, Patrick manages after some difficulty to make good on his part of the bargain, only to find that he feels genuine affection for the misunderstood Kat, and she for him. This sets up the inevitable breaking of hearts when the truth comes out, but in the end love prevails, the good guys all get a girl, and the sleazebag gets a swift kick in the nuts. Conclusion? No matter the day or age, the Bard knows how to tell a love story.

Copyright © 2002 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.