Ten Things I hate About You

Title - Ten Things I Hate About You
Author - Shakespeare(Taming of the Shrew)/Gil Junger
Production Date  - March 31, 1999

Plot - A retelling of the classic Shakespeare Play "The Taming of the Shrew," 10 Things I Hate About You, tries to tell the story to a younger, more modern teenage Audience.  Heath Ledger plays Patrick Verona, the Petruccio character of the play, coming into Padua high school, upsetting the social scene as he plays the rebel who will try to woo and win the fair, but shrewish, Katarina's heart.  Of course it is not as simple as all of that, as there are schemes and plots hiding underneath the surface, as with the regular play.  There is also another sister to be wooed, and her apparent interest in another person from the beginning.  Manipulations, double crosses, and hi jinx abound as the more modern look at teenage promiscuity and alcohol abuse is viewed.  The one large lack from the stage play seems to be the ending where Katherine in the play confounds her audience by telling others why it is great and essential not to be a shrewish bride.  It was an interesting point in Shakespeare's play that would have been difficult to adapt to modern sensitivities.  Finally, as Padua High, all is well that ends well.  Padua (Heath Ledger) gets Katarina(Julia Stiles), and Bianca(Larisa Oleynik)  is somewhat chastened and learns that sometimes the brightest love and best love may not always come in the shiniest package.

Critical Review - Despite some of the trivializing of the Shakespearean Play, with comedic turns where Petruccio breaks out into song on a football field to win Katarinas affections, and the seemingly limited content where in the play Petruccio spends time trying to break the spirit of his bride, 10 Things I Hate About You does a creditable job of trying to update the Shakespearean play for the modern teen.  While any adaptation of a play is subject to the interpretation of the director, 10 Things does a creditable job of trying to update the themes for the audience.  As there is a little more sympathy to the plight of the girls than their might have been in Shakespeare's day, the girls are having to develop their own thoughts and feelings about the world, and not having the men dictate it to them.   One might even argue that Padua is the one who is actually broken by the end of the movie, going from outsider bad boy, to tenderhearted soul.

Readers Annotation - Padua High is up for a revamping, as the classic Shakespearean Tale of Taming of the Shrew gets a high school face lift.  While not a brand new pair of breasts, Junger takes his audience on a ride of relationships, and a true understanding of love.  For when you love something, you have to be able to let it go.

--Author Information--
Shakespeare was a 16th century playwright, of which much is said and much is debated.  What is not debated is that the person known as Shakespeare was credited with some of the most complex and amazing literature ever written in the English language, with complex and basic themes.  He understood the heights and depths of human character and emotion, and his literature put that on full display.

Gil Junger is ironically known for his directorial debut, 10 Things I Hate About You.  He works for Touchstone Pictures, a subsidiary of the Disney Corporation.

Genre - Comedy, Films

Curriculum Ideas - Adaptations of Shakespeare in Film - Literature
What Makes a Comedy(Does it always end in Marriage)? - Literature

Booktalking Ideas - Adaptations - How does one go about adapting something to the stage or screen?  What does one cut out?  What does one include?

Reading(Watching) Level - Grade 9+

Challenge Issues - There is some teen partying and drug use.

Overcoming Challenge - The movie is a reflection of today's teen culture.  People who do those things such as abuse alcohol or sex, are punished or shown in a bad light

Why Included - This is one of my favorite modern Shakespeare adaptations, and perfect as it is directed at a teen audience.  Also, I  miss Heath Ledger as an actor.