REVIEW: 10 Things I Hate About You [1999]

“Heinous bitch is the term used most often” Although a somewhat recent encounter with Kiss Me Kate firmly placed the musical on the top of my The Taming of the Shrew adaptation list, I can’t deny the appeal—nostalgic or otherwise—of 10 Things I Hate About You. Directed by Gil Junger and written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith with their fair share of nods to The Bard, this romantic comedy plays with clique culture to intertwine love’s many trysts inside the halls of Padua High. Possessing a fun streak…

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FILM MARATHON: Movie Musicals #3: Kiss Me Kate [1953]

“You louse!” I’m a sucker for multi-layered films depicting simultaneous stories at once, juxtaposing onstage performances with the backstage antics of the actors involved. Kiss Me Kate, screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley and music by Cole Porter, shows the theatrical opening inter-workings of a stage musical, by the same name, styled on William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew—or as I like to call it, 10 Things I Hate About You. But the beauty of George Sidney’s work behind the camera is that he allows every single aspect to be shown,…

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