Jane Austen is much funner

Rating: 1/10 (3 June 2002)

"10 Things" tries hard and but in vain to revive the twinkle-toed atmosphere of Amy Heckerlings great Jane Austen adaption of "Emma" as a teenage-comedy in "Clueless" (1995). However, compared to the many truly mindless teenage-comedies excessively tiring our patience of(f) late (with "American Pie" just the epitome of the lot, repeating everything that has been said before conclusively and therefore the single one movie poised to have closed that sorry chapter for good enough) "10 Things" annoys ever the more by mistaking its classic groundwork to make amends for dull improbabilities that weren't even funny enough at the masters times (like: moron father says dumb younger sister can only get laid by some moron when older sister gets a moron first): a glorious source is no excuse for a dumb movie. And someone who wrote "Hamlet" is not a glorious source when it comes to judging "The Taming of the Shrew", "Love Labours Lost" or "The Merry Wives of Windsor".
Given that ancient drama and classical works became as lasting as they are because they basically deal with eternal human frailties, any pubescent teenage nonsense will have grecian models somehow or has been made into a play when Shakespeare, when Moliere, Goldoni, anyone of those, where at their times in need of easy cash - they remain tales told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, but signifying nothing.