(1999, Dir. Gil Junger)
In Short: This is Taming of the Shrew, only a whole lot more '90s. This is one of those movies that I should've seen ages ago that I'm just seeing now. It's a freshman/sophomore year movie, so I thought I would have outgrown it or been disappointed with it. Nope. I didn't know much about it going in--I knew Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger starred, I knew it was based on The Taming of the Shrew, I knew it was known for being a quintessential 1990s high school movie. I quickly realized that this is THE quintessential 1990s high school movie. Every trope I think of when I think "'90s high school movie" is present here in its purest form--the sarcastic feminist, the annoying and prissy little sister, the rumored teen convict, the crazy house party, the prom breakup, all of it. As soon as I noticed this, I was shocked that I wasn't bored out of my skull or just plain annoyed. I was really enjoying it! Every beat, every bit, no matter how typical of the genre, was executed so well that it didn't feel contrived. The screenplay was written by the good people who would bring us Legally Blonde a couple of years later, and it shows. The dialogue is witty ("It's just a party." "And hell is just a sauna.") and the plot is fun to follow but not overly-complicated. The characters (especially Heath Ledger's angsty delinquent) go through interesting and well-developed arcs, too, which is always appreciated. Overall, this was the kind of sit back and relax comedy that I really needed, and it was even better than I expected. I'm glad I took the time to give it the chance it deserved!
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AuthorEileen here, writing reviews for film class. Archives
April 2018
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