Not a masterpiece, but fun.

Rating: Null/10 (25 April 1999)

I was really not expecting to get anything out of this movie. I am 20 now and don't really want to bother going to see a "teen" movie. I am so tired hearing about Sarah Gellar, Ryan Phillipe, Dawson's Creek, Felicity, and the huge group of folks trying to be the new brat pack (which I am not impressed too much by either).
I was surprised how much fun I had. This is a silly little brainless romp. So what if there are some cliches, like the new guy getting prepped on where certain obligatory cliques hang out and what they do. Also, the actors don't really look and truly act like teenagers The whole was more than the sum of the parts. The colors were bright and the scenery was nice. I would have given anything to have gone to a high school that looks like a castle. The ocean view was gorgeous too.
Kat is a girl that is the obligatory "bitch". She is the Bikini Kill listening, riot girl acting, feminism spouting, girl from hell. I found her portrayal to be a little too predictable. I could see her comebacks coming a mile away. I think this makes sense though. We find out later that this is all just affectation. All teenage "outrageous" behavior can be boiled down to affectation. Kat is tough, but not the cliche she pretends to be.
The ensemble cast is good. They did a pretty good job breaking down all the facets of high school life. The kid from 3rd Rock From the Sun did a good job portraying the most accessible kid, we can understand him the most. My favorite character in the entire movie was the only adult that had a major part. Kat's dad was really funny. His overreactions to his daughters trying to have a life are hilarious and understandable. His character was the closest to being complex.
By now everyone knows that this movie was based on The Taming of the Shrew, which I'll admit is one of the Shakespeare plays that I have never read. You could see it coming through in the classic battle of the sexes. The writers were way to heavyhanded trying to get the original writer of the story across. Padua High? Kat Stratford? Patrick Verona? Why didn't they just have a character named Roman Juliette? High schoolers these days probably need such obviousness though.
All these things put aside I couldn't remain snobby about this movie and left with a smile on my face.