10 Things I Love about “10 Things I Hate About You”:

It is not every day that you find a movie that encapsulates everything you would ever want in a rom-com. To be both heartwarming and heart-wrenching, witty and beautiful, full of romance and humor. This is exactly what you’ll find in 10 Things I Hate About You, the best movie to watch during Valentine’s weekend. Released in 1999, 10 Things I Hate About You stars Julia Stiles as Kat and Heath Ledger as Patrick as they create the ideal rom-com through a timeless story of love, friendship, and music. 10 Things I Hate About You is my go-to till the world ends. Imagine this: Valentine's Day, on that sweet Monday night, snuggled up with your significant other or snuggled up with warm blankets and hot chocolate. 10 Things I Hate About You’s opening scene is playing, and everything is good. For me, in a long-distance relationship, Valentine's Day will be comprised of looking forward to watching 10 Things I Hate About You via Disney+ Group watch. It is EVERYTHING one could ever want in a rom-com. Here are 10 Things I Love about 10 Things I Hate About You.

10: The presentation of the rom-com feminist is seen through the lens of Kat’s character as she defies social standards and excels in inspiring the audience:
I would like to say that 10 Things I Hate About You paved the way for the feminist movement to come in the early 2000s. Even if she is seen as cold, heartless, and a shrew, Kat's independent, solid character is everything my younger self aspired to be. Kat is unapologetically fierce, fully herself, and contains every ounce of confidence needed to honestly not care about social pressures.

9. The love triangle between Joey, Cameron, and Bianca:
This movie exceeds my expectations when it comes to this love triangle. Happy endings should only happen once, so when Bianca chose shallow Joey, my heart broke, but it was what I ultimately expected. Just when I thought Bianca missed out on the amazing guy that Cameron is, the entire plot switched up, and we wind up with two happy endings: everything we wanted.

8. THE SOUNDTRACK:
I thought instead of explaining why the music in this movie is so great, I would just list the songs off and let you all hear the amazement yourself.
(Listen in this order and nothing else)
-    “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G.
-    “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli
-    “Push It” by Salt-N-Pepa
-    “Sexy Boy” by Air

7. Maybe not so PG-13:
Even though the movie is rated PG-13, many jokes and scenes left me with my jaw on the ground. I know I was maybe ten or eleven watching this movie and laughing at scenes I could never wrap my head around. If it weren’t for the principal's ongoing erotic book or her sly comments intended toward her students, the PG-13 label would be appropriate. However, I’m not complaining; this adds to the comedy and enhances the experience, especially at a young age.

6. Kat and Bianca’s strict dad:
This character did everything he needed to do as a strong, self-sufficient, single father who is terrified of his children leaving the nest. The Stratford sisters’ dad is the perfect embodiment of the parental experience that the audience relates to. A strict, loving, worried, goofy father figure was seen everywhere on TV while we were growing up, from Wizards of Waverly Place to The George Lopez Show, so it is a pleasant change of pace to experience a relatable father figure.

5. The “You’re just too good to be true” scene:
I do not know if it was Patrick’s smile, strut, or singing, but I play this scene in my head on the days I space out in class. I think of him sliding down that pole and getting ready to perform the best musical number my eyes have ever seen. Alongside the perfect song, Patrick sways around beautifully and executes the performance with five-star ratings all around. With the dodging of the police (even though we were never informed if Ledger was caught) and the audience's astonishment, this scene brought 10 Things I Hate About You to the next level.

4. The heartbreak we feel when Kat finds out:
Throughout this article, I have tried to be very careful about spoilers because if you have spent 18+ years living under a rock, you have not seen this movie. However, SPOILER WARNING: Patrick begins to seek Kat initially because he is getting paid to do so (it is a whole story, just watch the film, please). During prom, Joey reveals this secret in front of Kat which causes her to storm out of the building in anger and tears. My heart shattered as I knew Patrick was truthfully interested in Kat; however, Joey ruined it all. As cliche as it might have been, seeing Kat’s potent character shatter showed me that heartbreak hurts the strongest of people and that it is okay to have your heart broken, even if it is just from a relationship on your TV screen.

3. The perfect “high school” movie:
 Even if it is not a genre, my favorite movie genre is “high school” movies, which are basically, as shocking as it might be, movies about high school students based in a high school. Even as a college student, there is something so fulfilling in sitting down and watching scenes of the different cliques that reside in one building. In my high school, we had exactly that: a cafeteria filled with “cliques.” 10 Things I Hate About You gives the “high school” genre a run for its money. It matches all these high school stereotypes perfectly and offers a very realistic, although maybe slightly overdramatic, view into the high school experience.

2. Heath Ledger:
I want to say just that and progress to the next point because I hope people will already understand. However, for those who are not aware, Heath Ledger acted in movies like Lords of Dogtown, Brokeback Mountain, The Dark Knight, and many others. As Ledger, unfortunately, passed on January 22, 2008, his bright smile and curly bouncy hair live on in our memories and on our screens. 10 Things I Hate About You served as an introduction to this young new actor, and we marveled at the bad boy character while falling in love with the smile behind it all, Heath Ledger.

And Finally, 1. Kat’s Not-so-on-point iambic pentameter:
To conclude, I will recite Kat’s poem presented in class, which inspired my love for poetry.
I hate the way you talk to me
And the way you cut your hair
I hate the way you drive my car
I hate it when you stare
I hate your big dumb combat boots
And the way you read my mind
I hate you so much that it makes me sick
It even makes me rhyme
I hate the way you're always right
I hate it when you lie
I hate it when you make me laugh
Even worse when you make me cry
I hate the way you're not around
And the fact that you didn't call
But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you
Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

Written by: Solymar Estrella
Art by: Cassidy Elibol