10 Things I Hate About You and Romeo + Juliet are both great Shakespeare movie adaptations but which takes the crown as the best?
Everyone learns a thing or two about the famous playwright, William Shakespeare. He created one of the most famous love stories between Romeo and Juliet. Star crossed loves who meet a fatal end. Romeo and Juliet's story isn't the only one that was adapted on the big screen.
In the late '90s 10 Things I Hate About You became a teen cult sensation and was a modern twist on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew." The 1996 movie, Romeo + Juliet and the 1999 movie both involve drama, some comedy, and not so easy young love. Putting both movies head to head, one does better in some departments than the other.
The 1999 movie has more of a teen comedic feel than its competition. This makes the movie more fun to watch as audiences watch common teen tropes like the obligatory high school party. There are also the comical elements that are often seen in a teen drama like the popular guy who isn't all that smart.
Combined with the nerdy crowd, school cliques, and the one character who's hopelessly in love with someone that is deemed undateable. Fans of the movie can confidently say that the movie does a better job at having its comedic moments like the English teacher who has no problem putting students in their place. "Pipe down, Chachi."
Fans of Romeo + Juliet can admire its fun theatrics and over-the-top scenarios that wouldn't necessarily occur in real life. But it's what makes the movie so different from 10 Things I Hate About You. While the movie is a modernization, it still holds true to the well-known drama that Shakespeare is known for.
Take for example one of the beginning scenes, where both rival gangs happen to cross paths at the gas station. It's a big display of tension and drama. Both realize who each other are by the display of their crests on their guns. It then shifts to a Western showdown scenario with close-ups of the eyes, the metal sign swaying in the wind, and the music of course.
The tone of each movie has mostly to do with the original subject matter it's based on. Many go into Romeo + Juliet already knowing that the storyline has a dark and more tragic end result. 10 Things I Hate About You wins in that it's a lighter movie to watch. Audiences are introduced to teenagers in high school who deal with the normal cliches.
The movie isn't meant to be high-end drama, riveting rivalry, or a display of violence like Romeo and Juliet's story. It's one of the reasons why the movie is tagged as being a great teen movie. It's easily more digestible and a fun watch as the two main characters find themselves in love when they didn't expect it.
If comparing visuals and cinematography, Romeo + Juliet wins by far. As previously mentioned, the movie amps up the theatrics that works in relation to the original Shakespeare story. Tied with the theatrics come some engaging visuals like the overall color palette of bright blues, fluorescents, and pastels.
The elaborate display of costuming at the Capulet ball is impressive and dazzling. The visuals for the movie play into the storyline and makes it seem like a fairytale or distant dream. When Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) learns of Juliet's (Claire Danes) supposed death, he goes to her funeral full of dramatization and glowing crosses.
10 Things I Hate About You more modern twist on the Shakespeare play will be discussed in more detail. But it's worthy to note the movie's complex use of the "dating" storyline. It's what makes the movie intriguing got to watch and see how things play out in the end. When a new student falls for Bianca, he's warned that it's not the best idea.
Bianca and her sister are known for being undateable because of the strict rules set by their father. As a way to allow Bianca (Larisa Oleynik)to date, Cameron comes up with an elaborate plan. He enlists the help of the school's "pretty boy" to then enlist the help of the bad boy to get Bianca's older sister on a date. It's a complex plan that leads to an array of comical moments, drama, and love.
When it comes to Shakespeare's most well-known play, it's popular for its love story. Many regard Romeo and Juliet as star-crossed lovers. It's an aspect that 10 Things I Hate About You doesn't have because of the source material. It's what makes Romeo + Juliet a better adaptation because from beginning to end, it's about their tumultuous and forbidden love.
10 Things I Hate About You adapted the original story in a way that fit the era of the 2000s. Meaning a more dramatic teen romance, while Romeo and Juliet's is more of a dreamlike fairytale that occurs in one whirlwind moment.
Many can agree that the movie had its impressive moments that ridiculed common outlooks of society but in a comedic way. Some of these moments deserved a good "mic drop" at its brazen truths. Most of them coming from characters who are meant to be self-aware like Kat (Julia Stiles).
In class, she has an ongoing rivalry with the school popular guy, Joey (Andrew Keegan). When he makes a comment about her uptight demeanor, she retorts by saying “I guess in this society, being male and an a****** makes you worthy of our time." Classic. It only gets better when her teacher also calls her out by stating her middle-class suburban oppression and the next topic of the debate she'll take up next. He doesn't even want to get started on the clique of white males who idolize Bob Marley.
While Romeo + Juliet stays true to some elements of Shakespeare's original play it does modernize the rivalry between the Capulets and Montagues. In the original play, there's has been a rivalry for as long as people can remember between both families. The same occurs in the movie but for a modern twist, the two families are also gangs.
This leads to a more dramatic display of tension in the movie. Between the guns, the bullets, and the rivalry this adaptation is much more intense because of it. Not to mention, that it also involves the city police who often intervene and gives both families a fatal warning.
For anyone who studied "The Taming of the Shrew" in high school, they would know that the original play is nothing like the movie. In the play, Kat and Petruchio start a courtship. Kat is known as "the shrew" that must be tamed. Petruchio starts an array of psychological torment to get her to comply. Like no water or food. The movie does a much better job at modernizing some of the play's elements.
Kat is a feminist teen who dislikes any unreasonable display of teen idiocy and social ridicule. Instead of Petruchio being a fortune-seeking misogynist, he's a bad boy who tries to date Kat for some money. But there are layers to him. His image was fabricated by the students when in reality he's good at heart and sees the error of his ways and falls in love. Not to mention the real reason why Kat is shrew is because she gave in to social demands regarding sexual intercourse.
For anyone who had a hard time understanding Shakespeare in high school, then the movie might be a bit tricky. A unique aspect of the movie is that it's all done in the play's original dialogue. No modern language here. It's an interesting complexity as the overall visuals and cinematography take place in a more modern city.
The movie itself sticks to more original elements than 10 Things I Hate About You. The family rivalry, the big party where they first meet, the death of a member and the famed poison. Even the death scene is similar, except Juliet kills herself with a gun instead of a dagger. Not everything in the movie is 100% a reiteration.
