10 Things I Hate About You

Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is transplanted to present-day Seattle and set at Padua High School, with Petruchio morphed into hunky Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), wooing haughty senior-class misfit Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles). Novice writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith should not quit their day jobs; they smear the screen with flat contrivances and dreadful sitcom dialogue. Director Gil Junger is, to put it charitably, unimaginative. What saves the show, and makes it a decent video rent for a dull night, is its infectious rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack and the irresistible charm of the youthful cast