“10 Things I Hate About You,” a documentary directed by Rob Reiner and featuring Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway is one of the more entertaining romantic comedies of recent years. It’s a look at how high school turns out, filled with good-natured ribbing between two of the biggest fans of America’s educational system, Reiner and Hathaway. The storyline follows their friendship as they struggle through the normal daily routines of high school, trying to cope with all the different people and situations they encounter along the way. But as they continue to struggle through life, they discover that they’re not as perfect as they think. While it may seem like an incredibly corny movie, it’s actually a fun watch – especially for all the laughter the actors manage to put in this film.
One of the main things – I hate about you is the constant comparison of the students in this film to school models. Not only is it embarrassing for them, but it makes the film feel like a commercial for teaching children. After all, if all the students look alike, then what’s the purpose of taking them to school in the first place?
While there’s no way Reiner is trying to make his audience feel sympathy for his characters, there’s still a false sense of familiarity with the characters presented in this film.
- After seeing so many movies where the teacher/student relationship is almost platonic, watching this one where the characters are actually friends is a real treat. And in the end, it’s kind of a sad ending, too.
- There’s a scene where one of the boys comments on the fact that there aren’t any good people in school anymore. This ends up getting him into a lot of trouble with a couple of other boys (and the girl in his grade).
- Another time, after he gets a good grade, he’s ready to do some big school plans, but he winds up telling the wrong person (a teacher) the plan he’s come up with.
- In the end, he ends up getting yelled at for it. While it’s a comical scene, it’s indicative of how life tends to go when people don’t pay attention to people who are important in their lives.
After going through a whole lot of trouble – Parker ends up helping his friend out by driving him to the police station so they can speak with the authorities. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get very far. The two of them are locked inside the station and told they’ll be spending the night out in the drainage system. They’re given a number to call if they need help but are unable to get back out the station before dark. Once they do manage to get out, they’re asked to meet up with their friends at a pizza parlor.
This is where the film starts to pick up: Frank is initially the one who’s worried about the situation, but he quickly changes his mind once he sees the group of kids and realizes that all of them want to go on to have fun. Parker’s character is the one who gets pulled into the scheme by his friend Sam (Greg Garcia), though they soon learn that their plans will actually benefit them. Heading into the next part of the movie, you get a clearer picture as to just how the events of the preceding few hours unfold. The movie then goes into its thrilling climax.
It’s worth nothing that Parker plays – a pivotal role throughout the movie, especially in the last act. He’s the only one who know about the secret, and he wants to get in there and confront his teacher. It’s an interesting conflict for him to have to deal with, and he does a great job of playing it straight, which makes the viewer care about what happens to him and the other people involved. I don’t necessarily relate to the fact that Parker was thrown out of school, though I understand why people would feel that way.
He had to deal with a lot of hardships in the film, and those things aren’t always pleasant to deal with. However, I do think that by the end of the film, we understand why he did what he did.