Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Heath Ledger | ... | Patrick Verona | |
Julia Stiles | ... | Kat Stratford | |
Joseph Gordon-Levitt | ... | Cameron James (as Joseph-Gordon Levitt) | |
Larisa Oleynik | ... | Bianca Stratford | |
David Krumholtz | ... | Michael Eckman | |
Andrew Keegan | ... | Joey Donner | |
Susan May Pratt | ... | Mandella | |
Gabrielle Union | ... | Chastity | |
Larry Miller | ... | Walter Stratford | |
Daryl Mitchell | ... | Mr. Morgan (as Daryl 'Chill' Mitchell) | |
Allison Janney | ... | Ms. Perky | |
David Leisure | ... | Mr. Chapin | |
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Greg Jackson | ... | Scruvy |
Kyle Cease | ... | Bogey Lowenstein | |
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Terence Heuston | ... | Derek |
Adapted from William Shakespeare's play "The Taming of the Shrew," 10 Things I Hate About You starts off with Cameron, new student at Padua High, sitting in the office of the quirky guidance counselor Ms. Perky. He is then shown around the school by Michael, who will become his best friend. During his tour is when Cameron first sees Bianca Stratford, a beautiful sophomore with one problem: she isn't allowed to date. And neither is her "shrew" sister, Katarina, a senior who loves indie rock and feminist prose and hates conformity. But Kat and Bianca's father alters his house rule: now, Bianca can date... as long as Kat has a date, too. Now, in order for Cameron to date Bianca, he has to find someone to date Kat. So Michael helps him enlist the help of pretty-boy/jerk/model Joey Donner, tricking him into thinking that *he* will get to take Bianca out if he pays someone to take out Kat. His choice: Patrick Verona, a bad-boy with a mysterious reputation--some say he ate a live duck once, ... Written by Erica Baffa
I can't say enough good things about this movie. I do remember the first time I saw it, coming away thinking that I wanted to be just like Julia Stiles' character in it, though. She was so cool and did such an excellent job in her role, that still to this day I consider her to be the coolest teen in any 'teen movie'.
Basic Plot: Cameron (Levitt), a new student at Pagua high school, falls in love with a sophomore named Bianca Stradford (Oleynik).
However, Bianca has a flirtatious crush on the most popular senior at school named, Joey (Keegan). Cameron's sidekick Michael (Krumholtz)tells him, that Bianca is looking for someone to help her with French and Cameron decides that's how he'll ask her out on a date.
Kat Stradford (Stiles) is Bianca's sister. Totally opposite of Bianca, she is anti-social and is the most feminist high school senior you could ever meet. Against boys, dances, and anything having to do with prepiness and silly fun, she swears off dating and finds herself being accepted to Sarah Lawrence a college across the country in hopes to get away from her father and the city she lives in.
Bianca desperately wanting to date, is told by her father (Miller) that she will be allowed to date when her sister Kat does. Desperate and not knowing how to get her sister to 'date for her', ends up asking Cameron, her new French tutor, to help her with her predicament. Enter Patrick (Ledger). An outcast and rumored to have sold his kidneys on the black market for a new set of speakers, also attends Padgua high, and is unsuspecting of what will happen soon in his future.
Cameron and Micheal decide that in order to make this work, they need a backer. "Someone who's stupid, but has money." So they go to Joey, telling him that they know he likes Bianca, and they need him to pay Patrick a tidy sum, to have him date Kat, in order for him to date Bianca. What Joey doesn't know, is that Cameron secretly plans to date Bianca, while he pays Patrick to take out Kat.
It may sound like a very confusing movie. But it is so funny, cleverly written, and not entirely true of American teenage culture, but pretty close. The acting is wonderful and in my opinion nothing in the movie would have worked as well, without the people who played their characters. As I said before I think that Stiles' portration of Kat Stradford was right on, and no one could have done it better. Her best role, more than certainly, and I love this movie so much! I would have to say it's my favorite teen comedy next to The Breakfast Club. One the best movies, and a great watch!
I give it a 10 out of 10. Go rent it, or better yet go buy it! You won't regret it!