As teen movies go, not too bad

Rating: Null/10 (16 October 1999)

"10 Things I hate About You" starts off as your usual teen flick. Somewhat devoid of any real enjoyment....the first 30 minutes is completely forgettable. You get an immediate distaste for it, with the primary characters (Bianca, and her friend Chastity) being your stereotypical self absorbed teen queens. Then you have your arrogant pretty boy, your anti-social sister (Kat) that ruins Bianca's very existence. Your love struck new boy in school, the nerd assigned to show him around and the misunderstood romantic tough guy.
Once you get through that though, the movie begins to take on a certain charm, as Kat begins to fall for Mr. tough guy, =who turns out to have a heart of gold. Bianca's pretty boy turns out to be a self absorbed jerk, and she falls for nerdy new boy.
Julia Stiles steals the movie, although I firmly believe this was designed as a Larisa Olyneck vehicle. Her Kat is the only character to reach beyond the teen stereotypes the others fall victim too, and she simply steals each scene. Her table dance is one of the most memorable in recent history, and reveals her character's "soft" side
Being a guitar player, I was quite pleased to see my favorite guitar (Fender Stratocaster) get some screen time.....way to go there!!!!

Anyway, "10 Things" is an enjoyable romp worth your 97 minutes. See it and stay for the credits, aside from a bad cover of Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me" by some lame 90's band, there are some very funny outtakes in the tradition of "Grumpy Old Men " or "Cannonball Run"
1 1/2 out of 4