Very good romantic teen-comedy

Rating: 7/10 (4 April 2004)

This is one of the relatively few romantic comedies that are actually based on a good premise, and, as such, it's watchable for guys too. It's very funny, the humor is well-placed and perfectly timed. The romantic scenes aren't sappy or boring. The chemistry works out pretty well between the actors; you actually believe that these characters would get together, realistically. I read that it's based on Shakespeare's "the taming of the shrew"; now, since I haven't read that, I can't comment on how good the movie is compared to it, but as far as I know, the basic idea and theme is the same, as is most of the plot, and, considering that, it's a very good modernization of the story. The plot is good and involving, you are interested in what happens to these characters. The acting is all good. The script is well-written, and allows for the characters to be in some very funny scenes. The humor is directed at teens, but it isn't crude or offending, except for a few scenes, and even then, it's not too bad. I found it interesting how the focus completely shifted, in the last part of the film... the lead characters became supporting ones, whilst ones that were supporting before are now leads. I leave answering the question of whether or not this is true to Shakespeare's original text(or at least in the general spirit of him) up to those who have read his work. A good comedy for teens to watch, probably good for teen couples too. I recommend this to most people who enjoy teen comedies. 7/10