The movie, “10 Things I Hate About You” was filmed in 1999, directed by Gil Junger, written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. This captivating film was written based on William Shakespeare’s poem “The Taming of the Shrew”, created to make the audience or readers laugh and feel carefree because of the humor. The film did just that! I found myself entranced by the movie.
The movie/film portrays a young woman, acted out by Julia Stiles. As of the main characters in the movie, Kat Stratford is known for her strong personality and opinion, one that everyone in school finds irritating and terrifying. If you look back at the poem William Shakespeare wrote, you notice how he mentions a shrew, which can be defined as a woman who is argumentative, nagging, and ill tempered. Then, the main male lead, Patrick Verona, played by Heath Ledger, his character is based upon the character, Petruchio, in the poem “The Taming of the Shrew”.
As a side note, the creators of the film gave Patrick the last name Verona because it is Petruchio’s hometown; the setting of Romeo and Juliet as well, all created by William Shakespeare. In the film “10 Things I Hate About You”, Patrick Verona is described as a quiet, brooding loner, who gets in trouble quite often. Petruchio, the character Patrick Verona is based upon, can also be described as quite a troublemaker, but a more adult version of Patrick.
Enough about the characters, let’s talk about the plot of the film. The movie is a bit of a romantic but has a few comedic scenes, you’ll find yourself swooning and feeling emotional. First off, Kat Stratford, the shrew, has no interest in dating, besides, no one has the courage to date her. On the other hand, her younger sister Bianca Stratford, being more of a social butterfly, is very interested in dating. Their father Walter Stratford, played by Larry Miller, has made a rule that Bianca is not allowed to date until Kat has a boyfriend, which seems impossible due to Kat’s deterring personality.
The movie starts to pick up when Patrick Verona becomes involved, trying to win over Kat’s heart. Patrick is getting paid for it by the popular kid wanting to date Kat’s little sister, which is found to be infuriating because he eventually starts to develop feelings, making things complicated. So, although throughout the movie there is some deceiving involved in the relationship between Kat and Patrick, you find yourself smiling and adoring their time spent together. The things Patrick did to convince her to date him were hilarious and amusing to watch, and you’ll find yourself cringing at some of his advances.
The film is very lighthearted, you can definitely find yourself in a much better mood after watching the movie. The movie seems to be simple, having a happy ending like many other romantic movies, but if you observe and read into the movie a little more you realize the movie and poem might have a deeper message within. One interpretation can be that the story is about finding our identity, a crucial part of highschool and growing up. For example, Kat, it seems she used to be a carefree, relaxed person, even popular, but she lost herself and became mean and deterring. With a little bit of work, Patrick was able to bring out her true self, a carefree and happy person because of love.
