Ten things I hate about Ten Things I Hate About You

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 1999)

... Actually, I won't bother to count to make sure that I've got ten. Indeed, the film as a whole I rather like. The crucial thing is this: Julia Stiles plays a likeable character, and so does Heath Ledger. (I see they're letting Australian actors retain their accents. Excellent!) I was surprised to see that, MOST of the time, the script managed to treat the characters with respect. A love story involving these two is worth watching. If the backbone of the film is sound then the makers can afford to muff some of the inessentials. To proceed:
* One of the characters is a fan of Shakespeare and Shakespeare is the subject of one of the classes. Why doesn't someone NOTICE all the parallels? `West Side Story', after all, kept the fact that Shakespeare had written a play on this very subject tactfully out of sight, and that's the way it should be.
* The English teacher should be fired. If not for his campaign of harassment against the only talented member of his class, then certainly for performing a rap version of Shakespeare's poetry to make it look `hip' and `relevant'. Indeed, performing rap AT ALL would be misdemeanour warranting a small fine in any enlightened state. So many other villains get their come-uppance in this film - why not him?
* Speaking of which, why is it considered necessary for films set in high schools to have a score consisting entirely of songs? Is it to remind us how many people out there are allergic to music without words?
* There's too much gratuitous pairing at the end. Really, there's ONE couple whose fate is worth following - the rest can go hang.
* Why does the climax always have to be an end-of-year dance?
Gee, that's only five. Oh well. I mean, this film is no masterpiece, but it's decent enough - there's no reason to be too harsh.