10 Things I Hate About You

Release Date: March 31, 1999

Watch Date: December 12, 2023

“On the first day at his new school, Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) instantly falls for Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), the gorgeous girl of his dreams. The only problem is that Bianca is forbidden to date…until her ill-tempered, completely un-datable older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) goes out, too. In an attempt to solve his problem, Cameron singles out the only guy who could possibly be a match for Kat: a mysterious bad boy (Heath Ledger) with a nasty reputation of his own!”

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    This is not a Christmas movie.

    I mean, that is very clear. It’s about going to prom. There is nary a Christmas tree or a snowflake in sight. This film is, 100% for sure, not a Christmas movie.

    But we had an opportunity to watch it, and neither of us ever had, and it’s kind of famous and it is on our list so watch it we did and write about it we will. Go us.

    This is a tale as old as time, or at least as old as Shakespeare’s ‘Taming of the Shrew’, which isn’t even that old if you really think about it. Boy meets girl. Boy must come up with elaborate plot in order to date girl. Introduces another boy to a different girl. That boy and girl don’t like each other, but secretly do and then they fall in love. Then there’s a misunderstanding that keep boy 2 and girl 2 apart but boy 1 and girl 1 now love each other so they don’t care, but boy 2 cares so he has to fix things with girl 2 and of course he will, and then it’s a happy ending for everyone involved.

    Throw in some right on the cusp ’00s, some pop punk music, Heath Ledger hand waving away his accent in an American school system and some truly horrendous outfits and hair styles, and you’ve got yourself a classic movie.

    Man, I wish Heath Ledger were still alive, he was so good.

    I can see why people love this film, really I can. If you were watching this a teenager or a preteen this checks every single box for a cult classic. It has the same kind of feeling as Breakfast Club, just goofy enough and relatable enough and of it’s time enough to become something big. And then, of course, it’s based on work by The Bard, so it’s going to have enough of a timeless feel to it.

    It’s definitely not something I would choose to watch during the holiday season, but to each their own. I will say that it’s definitely light and fun enough that I could see myself craving a second watch and doing so again within a year. Even if you know how it ends, even if it’s predictable, even if the majority of the characters are shallow and annoying it’s still fun. It’s still light enough that you can enjoy it. It’s one of those movies you quote along with as you watch it, kind of like ‘Mean Girls’. It has a very Lindsey Lohan feel to it. I’m shocked Lindsey Lohan isn’t in it.

    Plus it has Heath Ledger, and I think more of Shakespeare’s plays could have done with a little bit of Heath’s attention – and I love Shakespeare. Could you imagine him in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’? That would have made my life!