The Film
Making Shakespeare look interesting to teenagers is tough. However, 10 Things I Hate About You isn't so much about The Taming of the Shrew, the story that (loosely) inspired this late '90s flick. Instead, it's more about young love, the prom, teen angst and a totally grungy soundtrack.
That makes sense, since teens haven't been down with The Bard, well, probably since the 1600s. So while the English class mainstay may have inspired the film, his participation is really limited to a few choice quotes and a period-style prom outfit. What isn't as transparent is the teen formula, which is alive and well here.
We have the geek (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) that pines for the popular girl (Larisa Oleynik), as well as the tool (Andrew Keegan) that wants to come between them.
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There's also an angry young girl (Julia Stiles), who has rock star dreams and feminist ideals. Then there's the scary, smoking loner (Heath Ledger), who may or may not have consumed an entire duck in one sitting -- beak and feet excluded, of course. The film takes this good looking cast of characters and, in the vein of
She's All That, throws in a crazy bet between them. Naturally, young love triumphs all.
OK -- when you spell it out on paper, it sounds like your typical Saturday afternoon on cable, especially when a
She's All That reference is thrown into the mix. However, the characters are very well put together. Also, the couples are cute, but also very believable (although our vote for cutest is Gordon-Levitt and David Krumholtz). It helps that the cast is skilled, as well as quite famous.
Even after 10 years,
10 Things I Hate About You is still a charmer for teen audiences and those in need of a flashback. It's not the best teen movie out there, but it's certainly an entertaining one.
The Picture
It's hard to believe that 10 Things I Hate About You is 10 years old. Stiles looks the same and so does Krumholtz (depending on his hair). Ledger and Gordon-Levitt both look like babies. We didn't need an awesome transfer to notice that. However, this one looks pretty good for an older teen title. Fleshtones are good and warm, with the exception of Stiles, whose porcelain skin stands out amongst her tan teen counterparts (but don't blame the Blu-ray for that). Disney has obviously done a little cleanup on the title, but the colors and detail are both surprisingly strong. Some of our favorite shots include the bold flowers around the Stratford home, the paintball scene, and the detail on the school's bricks. Overall, this 1.85:1 transfer is a nice upgrade over the DVD release.
The Sound
Talk about a flashback: This DTS-HD Master Audio track serves up all of the high-school hallway sounds we remember best. While it's not a very powerful track, it does make use of every speaker, in those hallways, as well as the barroom and party scenes. However, like a lot of teen movies, there's angst and a good soundtrack. This one really represents the ‘90s well, with music from Letters to Cleo, Save Ferris, The Cardigans, Barenaked Ladies, and others. It never messes with the dialogue, but with the exception of the aforementioned tidbits, the music pretty much consumes the entire soundfield.
The Extras
Apparently, a 10th anniversary doesn't mean much by movie standards. We have to respect that the studio didn't try to cash in on every little outtake left behind by the late Heath Ledger. However, some of those tidbits could have made this more of a must-see release. Instead, we get one commentary and a weird 10th anniversary documentary. Both are new, but the doc comes off a little dated since it's filled with stock interviews. There's no recent reminicing from Stiles, Gordon-Levitt or even comedian Larry Miller. Part of that short's 35 minutes also includes deleted scenes, which for some reason, are listed as a separate perk on the back cover. Seems like a tiny bit of false advertising and a whole lot of lameness.
Final Thoughts
It's not that 10 Things I Hate About You isn't worthy of your Blu-ray collection. The film is still fun and the transfer is pretty good, considering the film's age. However, this anniversary disc is a slap in the face to fans and anyone else looking for any insight 10 years after the original release.
Product Details
- Actors: Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Larry Miller, Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, Susan May Pratt
- Director: Gil Junger
- Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (French, Spanish)
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Region: A
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: PG-13
- Studio: Touchstone Home Entertainment
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: January 5, 2010
- Run Time: 97 minutes
- List Price: $29.99
- Extras:
- 10 Things I Love About 10 Things I Hate About You 10 Years Later
- Audio Commentary with Writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith and Actors Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, Larisa Oleynik and Susan May Pratt
