As basically anyone who has ever spoken to me knows, "10 Things I Hate About You" is my favorite movie of all time. Starring Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and the late Heath Ledger, it is the personification of a '90s rom-com. What makes me love it even more is that it is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." It's a great movie that I would encourage everyone to watch at least once, and here are just a few of the reasons I love it.
1. Julia Stiles
Julia Stiles is my favorite actress, and this movie is a big part of my reasoning. In my own personal opinion, this movie came out right at her peak, along with "Save the Last Dance" two years later.
2. Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger's grin is (aesthetically) my favorite part of this whole movie, and his accent makes it even better. He managed to walk the line between adorable and sexy perfectly, and it's a shame that he spent so much of his career making action movies instead of playing parts like Patrick Verona.
3. Ms. Perky
Portrayed by the hilarious Allison Janney, Ms. Perky, the guidance counselor, is a character who manages to be both hilarious and sad. Most of her screen time is spent working on her erotic novel, meaning the innuendo of high school is often repeated thoughtfully, making the comments even funnier.
4. Feminism
Kat Stratford was my first feminist role model, and I continue to look at her as such to this day. She stood up for herself, even going as far as backing into Joey's car because he purposely parked to block her in and antagonize her otherwise. I would love to be as badass as Kat Stratford someday.
5. Sisterhood
Kat and Bianca's representation of sisterhood is extremely accurate, at least in my experience. My sister and I are similar in many ways to the two girls in the movie, and it's honestly kind of funny to see a mirror of our relationship on the screen.
6. One-Liners
While I love the overall movie and its plot, the one-liners are comedy gold. There are so many quotable lines throughout the movie, and it's overall just a fun movie to watch, especially with friends.
7. Mr. Morgan
Mr. Morgan is the English teacher everyone wishes they had in high school. He does not put up with any nonsense from his students, and he definitely tells it like it is. My mom, who was an English teacher for almost my entire life, has always said that Mr. Morgan was the teacher she wished she could be in the classroom without getting fired.
8. Crying
This movie makes me cry literally every single time. While that isn't the most impressive feat in the world, I do love a movie that can make me actually cry instead of just tear up, and this is one of those.
9. Singing Scene
I won't spoil the movie by explaining why it's happening, but Heath Ledger singing into a microphone in the stadium before being chased by security guards is 100 percent my favorite scene in the entire film. It's cheesy and hilarious while also being insanely cutesy and romantic, and I love it for all of those reasons.
10. Lessons
This movie has multiple great lessons, especially for teenagers, and I definitely benefited from them when I first watched it. Kat and Patrick are unapologetically themselves, and they don't care what other people think about it.
