10 Things I Hate About You

10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy directed by Gil Junger.

10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 teen romantic comedy that loosely adapts Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Set in a Seattle-area high school, it stars Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

What it is

A modern retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, the film moves the story to a contemporary American high school. The plot centres on Cameron James, who wants to date Bianca Stratford but learns she cannot date until her older sister Kat does. Cameron recruits Patrick Verona to pursue Kat, leading to a chain of romantic complications.

Why it matters

Released in 1999, the film became one of the best-known teen romantic comedies of the late 1990s and has retained a strong cult following. It is often credited with helping raise the profile of its young cast, including Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, and remains a popular choice for broadcast and streaming with Canadian audiences.

Key details

Directed by Gil Junger, the film runs 97 minutes in English. The principal cast includes Julia Stiles as Kat Stratford, Heath Ledger as Patrick Verona, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cameron James, and Larisa Oleynik as Bianca Stratford. It has no specific Canadian setting or production connection.