A modern adaption of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew

Rating: 6/10 (22 July 2011)

I'll leave my original rant about this movie as an example of what the result is when one listens to ignorance and goes to see a movie with the completely wrong expectations. My friend originally told me that this movie is like Daria, and as such I went expecting to see Daria, and was very disappointed. However, upon learning that this movie is actually Shakespeare, taken from 16th Century Padua, and placed into an American high school, it changes substantially. It does not necessarily mean that it is any better, but at least one can approach the movie in the way that it is expected to be approached. This movie is supposed to be 'The Taming of the Shrew', and we have the main characters in the play (Katerina, Bianca, the father, but not by the name from the play, Patrucio, though he is named Partick Verona. We also have some suitors for Bianca). However, despite the similarities to the plot, and the characters, this film is not really Taming of the Shrew but rather inspired by it. The most significant difference is that this movie is a lot tamer than the original, which is not surprising since heavy criticism can be brought against the original for its treatment of women. We note that Patrick Verona is nowhere near has devious as Petrucio. However, we note that the reason as to why the girls' father does not want them dating until after high school is a fear that they will become pregnant. However, because Katerina has pretty much become incredibly anti-social, he believes that he is safe by allowing Bianca to date if Katerina dates, which Bianca does not believe this will happen. The play is somewhat different, and no real reason is given as to why Baptista wants Katerina married first, with the exception that he does not want to be left burdened with an unruly daughter. One could go on and on comparing this film with the original play, however I believe that the intention of the film makers was not to make a better film than the play, but rather to make the play more accessible, and palatable, to the modern audience. Like in She's the Man, I think they have succeeded.
Okay, 10 Things I Hate About this movie: 10) The person playing Kat did not seem to fulfill the role that well. 9) Bianca was too nice 8) None of the people in the movie were losers. 7) Kat was not sarcastic nor was she capable of talking back to people. 6) Alex got Bianca in the end. 5) Bianca liked Alex and let him know it. 4) The character changed halfway through the movie. 3) Kat was too emotional 2) There was no Kevin and Brittany equivalent. 1) This was nothing like the TV show Daria. In compiling this list I was comparing it to Daria as my friend claimed that it was like it. There are similarities, but generally the characters are quite different. If the makers were trying to copy Daria then I feel that they failed. I say this because Kat loosened up in the end and Bianca easily tied herself to a guy. Daria is very critical and simply doesn't care about anything - Kat is simply rebellious. Quinn is an airhead and loves leading guys around, Bianca simply wants a boyfriend but her father won't let her have one. Finally all of the "normal" people in Daria are portrayed as losers, they are not in this movie. I guess I am being too critical about it because I was expecting something else. It seems to be a little like Daria, but it really falls far short. I was really disappointed that the guy that Kat falls for in the end seemed to change character during the movie, and the only thing he really did was to stop smoking. At the beginning he is portrayed as being rebellious, scary, and very intimidating, but he quickly changes around and I don't think it is because he is "misunderstood". Kat is not misunderstood, she simply does not care. That is the theme of the movie, what is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular. This is inscribed on the back wall of the English room (I really did like the English Teacher - probably his blackness had something to do with it). The father was interesting: he was paranoid that his daughters would become pregnant but he was going far beyond what is considered sane. I really can't think much regarding this movie, it was okay, funny in spots, and the school building was beautiful, but other than that it does not stand out that much. Don't worry if you miss it, your not missing anything outstanding.