The 10th Anniversary is here for this 90’s teen classic 10 Things I Hate About You.
I remember enjoying this film when it came out. I don’t remember specifically why, as that was 10 years ago. Since then I’ve only relived the film’s iconic scenes through spoof movies like Not Another Teen Movie.
I love 80’s teen films. Films like Say Anything are great, but if 10 Things I Hate About You is supposed to be one of the highlights for 90’s teen movies, there was some magic lost between these decades. Maybe I should just wait another 10 years to this film and I’ll enjoy it again.
The problem for me lies within the characters. They’re all dull and angry. Teen angst sucks. They do open up as the film goes on, but by that point I’m bored as a viewer. This guy is interested in that girl, the girl isn’t interested in that guy, girl gets drunk, girl is sad, girl is still a bitch. The end?
For the most part, the jokes fell pretty flat. The timing seemed to be off for most of the comedic moments. It was like my brain was running laps around these characters as they tried to deal with their morbid lives. I did enjoy the terrible 90’s clothing and Dawson’s Creek reference. Anytime that there was an over the top injury inducing moment, life was good. The soundtrack is also a fun trip down 90’s memory lane.
I know that there are probably thousands of 10 Things I Hate About You fans who are angry at me right now for saying these sort of things. I’ll I have to say is bite me. (See the 90’s reference?)
As far as the bonus features there are: 10 Things I Love About 10 Things I Hate About You 10 Years Later, Deleted Scenes, and a writers and cast audio commentary. For being the 10th anniversary and on Blu-ray edition, I expected a lot more when it came to these special features. The featurette only includes interviews from the cast 10 years ago when they were on set. It intercuts between these interviews and new ones featuring the writers and director. The good thing is that it does go into a lengthy amount of detail about the film.
One thing that the box promotes via a sticker on the front side is that this Blu-ray contains and I quote: “Never-Before-Seen HEATH LEDGER Screen Test Footage.” That’s true if you consider 10 seconds of footage worthwhile to promote. The footage is contained within the featurette and they skim over it. So don’t expect to be blown away by this footage.
This Blu-ray 10th Anniversary edition isn’t all that special and that’s due to its lack of special features. If you’re looking to get a high-definition version of this film, this package will work fine for you. The picture quality is great in 1080p.