10 Things I Hate about You
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10 Things I Hate about You is an 1999 American romantic comedy film starring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, and directed by Gil Junger. An adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew set in a modern American high school, the screenplay was written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. The movie's title is a twist on The Taming of the Shrew (see below) but is also a reference to a poem written by the film's female lead to describe her bittersweet romance with the male lead. The movie's poster (not shown here) also has an arrow pointing at the character about whom the poem is written. [link] The film was released March 31, 1999.
Cast
- Julia Stiles – Katarina "Kat" Stratford
- Heath Ledger – Patrick "Pat" Verona
- Larisa Oleynik – Bianca Stratford
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Cameron James
- Larry Miller – Mr. Stratford
- David Krumholtz – Michael Eckman
- Andrew Keegan – Joey Donner
- Susan May Pratt – Mandella
- Gabrielle Union – Chastity
- Allison Janney – Ms. Perky
- Daryl Mitchell – Mr. Morgan
- David Leisure – Mr. Chapin
The plot
On his first day at Padua High, Cameron falls in love with Bianca Stratford, a beautiful sophomore student. However, Cameron is faced with the problem of Bianca being forbidden to date, due to a family rule set by her strict father, an obstetrician paranoid about Bianca getting pregnant. Cameron is told that Bianca can date when her older sister Katarina, or "Kat" does as well, a rule the elder Stratford engineers because he knows that no one is willing to date Katarina, a cynical nonconformist known as a terror in her school.Not willing to give up, Cameron, along with his newfound best friend Michael Eckman, search the entire school, and come across what seems to be the perfect date for Kat - the mysterious Patrick Verona, who has a reputation for having done hideous and criminal acts. Patrick has no interest in Katarina, but Michael devises a plan to have another student, Joey Donner, pay Patrick to take Katarina out. Joey, a self-centered model with money, makes a bet with a friend that he could bed Bianca, and, in order to get closer to her, pays Patrick to go out with Katarina so he may date Bianca, not knowing that Cameron is attempting to date her as well.
During his faux courtship of Kat, she and Patrick form a genuine rapport, and fall in love. Meanwhile, Bianca falls in love with Cameron. Eckman too gains the heart of Katarina's best friend, Mandella after the two discover a mutual infatuation with Shakespeare. Kat eventually discovers that Patrick was paid to take her out, forcing their relationship to fall apart. Meanwhile, Joey discovers Cameron's attempt to court Bianca, and physically attacks him, which earns Joey the ire of Bianca, who responds by knocking Joey unconscious herself. Kat writes a poem the next day in school, listing the "ten things" she hates about Patrick, the last one being merely an admission that she doesn't really hate him at all, in spite of what has transpired. As a gesture of apology, Patrick buys Kat a guitar so she can start up her own band. This cements their relationship once again, and the film ends with their love very much alive.
Shakespearean references
10 Things contains many relatively subtle references to Shakespeare's works. Careful comparison of Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate about You reveals some similarities, mostly in character names and general plot ideas.For instance, the two sisters in The Taming of the Shrew are named Katherina and Bianca, while the two sisters in 10 Things are named Katarina and Bianca. Katarina and Bianca's last name is Stratford, making reference to Stratford-upon-Avon, the English town known worldwide as the birthplace of Shakespeare. Katarina's suitor in Shakespeare's play is Petruchio of Verona—becoming Patrick Verona in 10 Things. In 10 Things, the high school is named Padua, the city in which Shakespeare's play is set.
Comparison of the two works will also reveal similar plot ideas. For instance, Shakespeare's Lucentio wishes to wed Bianca but cannot until her older sister Katarina is married. Knowing that Bianca cannot enter into any relationships, he poses as a tutor in order to become closer to Bianca— much as in 10 Things where Cameron takes up French to tutor Bianca. While still posing as Bianca's tutor, Lucentio confers with a somewhat wild character, Petruchio. Like Patrick, he is an out-of-towner and little is known about him. Petruchio agrees to marry Katherina simply for the dowry that comes along with her, allowing Lucentio to pursue Bianca—just as Patrick agreed to date Kat for the money offered to him by Joey. In both the source and the adaptation, despite the initial monetary reasons the couples formed, both partners genuinely fall in love.
Compared to most other teen comedies of its time, the characters of 10 Things are unusually verbose, regardless of the cliques to which they belong, which is much in keeping with the styling of Shakespeare.
Rumors about Patrick
Throughout the film, Patrick Verona is accused of doing hideous and crazy things, which include the following:
- Eating a live duck whole (except the beak and feet)
- Setting a state trooper on fire
- Having a porn career
- Selling his liver for a pair of speakers (however, the liver easily regrows as long as it's larger than a quarter of the original size)
- Spending a year in San Quentin (a California Prison).
During science class when Michael tells Cameron "didn't I tell you this was pointless? Who will go out with Katarina?'
- Cameron: (looking at Patrick Verona) "Hey, hey...what about him?"
- Michael: (shocked) "No, no...don't look at him. He's a criminal. I heard that he lit a state trooper on fire, he just spent a year in San Quentin"
- Cameron: (smiling): "Yeah, well at least he's horny"...
- Michael: "He sold his own liver on the black market for a new set of speakers."
- Joey: "That guy? I heard he ate a live duck once"
- Michael: "Everything but the beak and feet"
- Joey: (approaches Patrick with a friend and tries to gain Patrick's attention): "I ate some good duck last night"
- Patrick: "Do I know you?"
- Michael: "Before we begin, should you be drinking alcohol when you don't have a liver?"
- Patrick: (in an aggravated tone) "What?"
- Michael: (scared) "Nothin, nothing..."
- Kat: "I know the porn career's a lie."
- Patrick: "Do you?"
Kat's 10 Things I Hate about You
- I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair.
- I hate the way you drive my car.
- I hate it when you stare.
- I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind.
- I hate you so much it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme.
- I hate the way you're always right.
- I hate it when you lie.
- I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry.
- I hate it when you're not around, and the fact that you didn't call.
- But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.
Filming locations
Exterior shots were filmed in Tacoma and Seattle, Washington. The high school's exterior was shot at Tacoma's Stadium High School.Soundtrack
The soundtrack for 10 Things consists of 14 songs (listed in the order they appear on the album):
- Letters to Cleo – "I Want You to Want Me"
- Semisonic – "FNT"
- Save Ferris – "I Know"
- Sister Hazel – "Your Winter"
- Jessica Riddle – "Even Angels Fall"
- Leroy – "New World"
- Ta-Gana – "Saturday Night"
- George Clinton – "Atomic Dog"
- Brick – "Dazz"
- Joan Armatrading – "The Weakness in Me"
- The Cardigans – "War"
- Madness – "Wings of a Dove"
- Letters to Cleo – "Cruel to be Kind"
- Richard Gibbs – "One More Thing"
External links
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