Rating (1 to 10) : 5
Summary: A remake of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, adapted for a teenage audience.
This film is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s play “The Taming of the Shrew” with contemporary characters in a current setting. I’ve never read or seen Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” so my review does not factor in the similitude between the play and this movie (and maybe that’s a good thing).
The plot is somewhat convoluted from a modern point of view – a new kid at school, Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Leavitt) wants to go out with a beautiful classmate of his, Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik). But it’s not as easy as asking her out because Bianca has an overprotective widower as a father. Mr. Stratford (played well by Larry Miller) wants to discourage any dating by his daughters because he’s an obstetrician and has seen enough teenage pregnancies to last a lifetime. He certainly does not want any teenage boy to have his way with his daughter (but then again, what father does?) so he devises a way to keep Bianca single – Bianca can only date if her sister Katarina also starts dating. Problem is, Katarina, aka Kat, is a budding man-hating, Sylvia Plath-reading feminist. What guy would Kat actually be interested in?
Cameron, being the wily one, tries to set Kat up so Bianca can start dating. He finds another newcomer in school, Patrick Verona (the surname being the same as the setting for Shakespeare’s play), who might be persuaded to pursue Kat….for a price. Cameron’s friend, Michael (David Krumholtz), devise a way for Cameron’s rival for Bianca’s affections, the school’s seductive GQ-poster boy Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan), to pay Patrick to date Kat by suggesting to Joey that it would be the easiest way for Joey to seduce Bianca.
At first, all goes well as Patrick pursues Kat and he grows on her. This allows Bianca to date but instead of going out with Cameron, Bianca goes out with Joey instead, causing Cameron to rethink his plan. Things start falling apart when it is disclosed to Kat that Patrick was hired to date her and that leads to conflict.
Anyone who has read or seen Shakespeare’s play or has any common sense can see the outcome of the movie as the couple(s) deserving of each other finally end up that way because a few of the characters come to a self-discovery. I will give credit to the writers for making a solid attempt to adapt this Shakespearean play into a modern form aimed at the teenage audience. The highlight of the movie though is seeing Letters to Cleo playing Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me” on the rooftop of the high school as the credits roll by. Kay Hanley can put Robin Zander to shame as she sings the song with more romance in the lyrics than the original.
Why you should or should not see this movie:
You should see this movie if:
1) you are a big Shakespeare fan and want to see every movie based on his works;
2) if you want to waste 2 hours with a light comedy/romance film that’s OK;
3) if you want to see Letters to Cleo do a rendition of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me”.
If none of the above, there are better films out there.
Mr. Stratford: “What are the two house rules? Number one, no dating til you graduate. Number two, no dating til you graduate. That’s it.”
Bianca: “Daddy that’s so unfair!”
Mr. Stratford: “All right, you wanna know what’s unfair? (motioning to Kat) This is for you too. This morning I delivered a set of twins to a fifteen-year old girl. Do you know what she said to me?”
Bianca: “I’m a crack whore who should have made my skeezy boyfriend wear a condom?”
Mr. Stratford: “Close…but no. She said ‘I should have listened to my father.’”
Bianca: “She did not.”
Mr. Stratford: “Well that’s what she would have said if she wasn’t so doped up.”