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Written by: Karen McCullah & Kirsten Smith, William Shakespeare (play, uncredited)
Directed by: Gil Junger
Starring: Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Gabrielle Union, Allison Janney
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
High-schoolers Bianca and Cameron can't date until her anti-social older sister Kat has a boyfriend, so Cameron pays bad boy Patrick to charm Kat.
Verdict
It's a great example in the high school rom-com sub genre, boasting a solid idea and well-developed characters. The setting is a fantastical high school experience most of us wish we had experienced where the focus is on romance. This provides more than a few fun moments, and the twisting plot is never dull. This genre is often about getting two people together, and this is no exception, but the writing and character development elevate this from typical examples in the genre.
Watch It.
Review
It's a modernization of William Shakespeare's comedy The Taming of the Shrew. This was the first of three Shakespeare adaptations in which Stiles appeared, followed by Hamlet (2000) and O (2001).
The first scene sets the tone for the movie as Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets with the guidance counselor as a new student. The counselor is a trip and a half. From there Cameron gets a tour of all the cliques in the school. It's a parody of high school and all of the groups, but it's during that tour that Cameron is smitten by Bianca (Larisa Oleynik). That creates the premise for the plot as Cameron must jump through numerous hoops just to go on a date with her. The formidable hurdle is Bianca's older sister Kat (Julia Stiles). Kat is rebellious and independent, irritated at the male dominance of society.
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| Larissa Oleynik, Joseph Gordon-Levitt play Bianca, Cameron |
It's very stylized, and a bit more clever than the typical high school movie. While the dialog is way too sharp for this age group and likes to use a bunch of SAT words, it is fun. The thing with this sub-genre of high school fantasy movies is that high school was never like this, but everyone wants it to be. These movies fully play into the myth of what high school could be. Can't Hardly Wait also does an excellent job at playing up the fantasy.
Cameron wants to date Bianca and plots to trick Joey into making it happen. Joey pays Patrick (Heath Ledger) to date Kat and free Bianca. Bianca's father won't let her date until Kat does which seems incredibly unlikely. When Patrick has no luck, Cameron grows desperate despite Bianca more interested in Joey.
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| Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles play Patrick, Kat |
Patrick finally manages to get Kat to a party which in turn allows Bianca to attend the party. Patrick manages to win her over before losing all the ground he's gained while Bianca realizes that Joey isn't all that interesting.
It's not a new idea, Patrick coerced into dating Kat and instead falling for her, but I bet it seemed fresher in Shakespeare's day. What helps this movie is how well the characters are written. His serenade of Kat is a fun moment. The tension aspect is that while Patrick really likes Kat, he has a secret that could hurt her and end things. The fatal flaw in these movies is the lack of communication. As soon as Patrick fell for Kat, he should have told her the truth. The longer you let it linger, the worse it gets, but it does help the plot. In real life people rarely like to reveal deception
It all comes down to the school dance where the truth is revealed and feelings are hurt. Characters reconcile and the movie ends happily with everyone getting what they wanted.
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