There are probably ten things you shouldn’t do before watching ABC Family’s remake of 10 Things I Hate About You but the main one that comes to mind is watch the original movie. After watching the first episode, I decided I’d buy a copy of the movie off iTunes and give it a re-watch. And it’s bloody brilliant: it’s literally laugh-a-minute, very clever, has great performances, and even follows The Taming of the Shrew quite closely. Go get yourself a copy right now to see what I mean.
The TV series, while not bad, throws away most of the things that made the movie so distinct, including the whole The Taming of the Shrew plot and any references to books (seriously). Now we just have two sisters, one a bit smart and indie, the other a bit dumb and popular, whose dad is ridiculously over-protective. It’s funnyish in an OTT way – the dad even makes the sisters submit to urine tests when they get back from nights out to make sure they haven’t been drinking/taking drugs – and Lindsey Shaw is really good. But it’s essentially just another high school comedy with a cast over-acting for all they’re worth.
If you don’t mind relatively obvious, high school comedies with some very slow-burn, obvious romances, 10 Things isn’t bad, and Kat, the smart indie sister, is at least a decent role-model. But given its pedigree, I’d have hoped for something a whole lot better.
Carusometer ratings: 3
Rob’s prediction: It won’t ever excel or reach any heights, but I imagine it’ll last a season at least
