Rotten Tomatoes: 61% A clever modern retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, 10 Things I Hate About You helped further the careers of a large number of its talented cast, namely Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Though far from perfect, 10 Things is one of the smarter romantic comedies to come down the pike in the 1990s, a self-aware teen flick that deviates just enough from the cliches we expect, and of course, benefits massively from the charming Ledger in the role of the rebellious Patrick Verona. Packed with snappy dialogue (who can't love the line, "Bogey's party is just a lame excuse for all the idiots at our school to drink beer and rub up against each other in hopes of distracting themselves from the pathetic emptiness of their meaningless, consumer-driven lives"?), likeable performers and a refreshingly unique romantic bent, 10 Things overcomes a potentially predictable premise with wit, grace and style. The climactic scene in which Kat (Stiles) reads her title poem to Patrick may have been parodied to death by now, but it's still the movie's most stirring moment, and Stiles absolutely nails it. Did we miss any classically underrated teen flicks of the 1990s? Let us know in the comments! And until next time, where we'll see you with the 10 Most Underrated 2000s Teen Movies!
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
