Shockingly Great Teen Movie

Rating: 9/10 (25 June 2003)

In the last few years it seems as if we have seen another boom of teen movies. Like teen pop music, teen movies come into our lives and scar us forever. Things like this must go. But in a world where Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt rule the teen movie genre, a refreshing teen cast can actually be found. And where is it found my friend? In the blockbuster hit '10 Things I Hate About You'. Sure, Julia Stiles is a pro at teen movies. But this was the one that thrust her into the limelight. As Kat Stratford she really did know how to shine. Her character was never wishy washy or annoying. The one character that was annoying. Yes... there actually was one. His name would be Cameron. This character was played by Third Rock From The Sun's Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Let me tell you kid, you will never have a movie acting career. Stick to telivision, its your forte. Larisa Oleynik, one who was both on Third Rock From The Sun and... my childhood favorite... The Adventures of Alex Mack was great as Bianca. I hadn't seen her in much since her stint on television shows, but she did a great job fitting in on the big screen. And Heath Ledger had his breakout role as Patrick Verona. This character seems a lot like a normal person. I was actually happy to see Heath in this role since most of his roles afterwards weren't up to par. He just seemed more down to earth and real in this movie. And the storyline of this movie was great. It was truly a wonderful remake of a Shakespeare classic, The Taming Of The Shrew. I had a chance to see the play after seeing the movie. The movie did the play justice. It's one of the best adaptations of a Shakespeare play I've seen. Humor is found throughout this film, and that's refreshing considering most teen movies of this time are sappy when it comes to humor. Another breath of fresh air is the soundtrack including bands like Letters To Cleo and Save Ferris. If you like ska you might want to listen to some songs on that soundtrack. Well with this said... one last thing. Gabrielle Union is in this movie as Chastity. It's annoying how she's in every film nowadays, but I still like her.
Ratings (out of 4 stars): Script - *** Cast - *** Overall - ***