it's a risky title.
4.1 miles. Pretty good run, actually.
I had been thinking of doing a modern Taming of the Shrew. I was somewhat bummed to see someone had beaten me to it, but as someone (a critic? a screenwriter bud of mine?) pointed out, Clueless came out about 3 years ago, Hollywood realized that teen versions of classics are viable, and development takes about 3 years, so we are now getting a whole bunch of teen adaptations: She's All That (Pygmalion), Cruel Intentions (Dangerous Liaisons), and 10 Things I Hate About You (Taming of the Shrew). Still to come: Othello and Hamlet. No, I'm not kidding.
We went to see 10 Things I Hate About You and we both enjoyed it, though I don't think either of us would tell you to run out and see it. Roger Ebert gives it two-and-a-half stars, and that's about right: it's good, but it's not stellar.
On the up side: no movie based on a Shakespeare play will have plot problems, and this one doesn't. I really liked the leads (Julia Stiles as Katharina, Heath Ledger as Petruchio...errr, Patrick) and there was some funny business here and there. I especially enjoyed the English teacher, who is an equal-opportunity hardass on his students.
On the down side: the most annoying part was the dialogue--not that it was bad, but it was banal. A ton of times I thought, "Is that the best you can do?" An exchange between Katharina and Bianca that consists of, "You suck!" "You suck!" is not the kind of witty repartee I hoped for. And I think it's entirely possible to make teenagers sound witty without making them self-referential, a la Dawson's Creek (which I find unwatchable). Another annoying part of the movie was the introduction of funny or strange bits--the guidance counselor writing a bodice-ripper--without paying them off in any way.
I'm not sure I would have gotten all the goofiness of the teenagers, but I know for damn sure I would have had better dialogue. Now I'll just have to think of a new way to do the Shrew in modern dress, I guess.
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Copyright 1999 Diane Patterson
Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com