The Teen Flick of My Generation

Rating: 8/10 (4 October 2008)

I'm 19 now (so was only 9 when '10 Things I Hate About You' came out) and I have seen this film way too many times to count. There have been countless sleep-overs, film days, random get-togethers and quite evenings alone that have all featured this film, so much so that I can now pretty much recite the entire script off by heart. Yet it is a mark of just how great this film is that, despite knowing it inside out I can still sit down and watch it and thoroughly enjoy doing so - it is and always will remain one of my favourite films.
When I was younger I never questioned anything in the films I watched - it is only as I have grown up that I have learnt to be critical of films, books and music, and even now, I can't fault any of the acting in '10 Things I hate About You'. Heath Ledger gives a dazzling performance as usual (which is surprising considering how reluctant Ledger was to take the part in case he became typecast) but the real breath-taking performance for me was by Julia Stiles - it is only now I am older that I can appreciate just how believably she managed to pull off her character that you do not for an instance question whether she is the 'rude, aggressive, bitter older sister of the most popular girl at school who only behaves in this way as a defence mechanism'. The remainder of the cast, Jospeh Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, David Krumholtz etc all play their parts perfectly, and with a true 90's script and killer soundtrack this film couldn't fail to be anything but a success.
I guess that part of the appeal of this film for me is the fact that I grew up through my teenage years constantly watching it. If I was to be introduced to this film for the first time today, I am not sure whether I would like it anywhere near as much as I do now, but it has a certain sentimental value for me, and brings back many, many memories. And I have to say, in this genre of film, '10 Things I hate About You' will always come out on top. I guess that this film is my generations High School Musical, however, there is one key difference in my opinion - although this may be a teen chick flick it is in a class of it's own quality wise, and definitely should not be disregarded as anything less. Love it!!