SYNOPSIS (taken from press release):
Padua High sophomore Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik)
has two invitations to the prom and one big problem: her father (Larry Miller) won’t let her go unless her older sister
Kat (Julia Stiles) agrees to attend as well. It looks like both girls are staying home, since independent and unconventional
Kat has no interest in going—until she meets the school’s mysterious new bad boy Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger).
What she doesn’t know is that her sister’s suitors (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Andrew Keegan)
have ponied up $300 to convince Patrick to woo her. Just as Patrick realizes he has unexpectedly fallen for his “assignment,”
Kat finds out about the scheme and Patrick has to launch an all out campaign to win her back. Inspired by Shakespeare's
"The Taming of the Shrew," 10 Things I Hate About You takes a witty and contemporary look at the eternal
battle between the sexes, high-school style.
ANALYSIS:
I have been a fan of Shakespeare film adaptations.
Some I love (most HAMLET adaptations, TWELTH NIGHT, MACBETH (as an Aussie gangster film) and some I hate (I still can't stand
ROMEO & JULIET). Then there is 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU that introduced me to the talent of the late and
great Heath Ledger (I noticed him a little in ROAR) and Juliet Stiles (whose career seems to have cooled a little).Larisa
Oleynik is teh cutie out of the girls in this movie, but the acting skills of Ledger and Stilles makes this film breath with
charm. humor, and warmth. I connect to the feeling of people wanting to be loved and finding love.
10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU is the film that told me that Heath Ledger was a special actor. His career was too short,
but this is one of his best roles.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU 10 YEARS
LATER is a featurette that has vintage interviews with the cast and new interviews with the director and the screenwriters.
The featurette is mixed with low quality clips form the film and some behind-the-scenes footage. Also deleted scenes
are featured, but I wish they were featured without them being interrupted by comments from the director and writers.
It is an entertaining featurette that tells how the film was made and the impact it still has.
Also featured on the disc are an audio commentary with
cast and crew, and previews for other DVD releases. Too bad they couldn't include the original theatrical trailer.
FINAL ANALYSIS: 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU
is a witty film that is fun to watch always and it is interesting to compare it to the new TV series (which I will review
soon).
this DVD review is (c)12-5-2010 David Blackwell and cannot
be reprinted without permission. send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
