10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Blu-ray Review

In 1999, a quirky little comedy based on Shakespeare's, Taming of The Shrew, entitled 10 Things I Hate About You, hit the theaters. At that time, a very unknown Heath Ledger started along side Julia Stiles in this comedic romance. It was about Padua High sophomore, Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik), who has two invitations to the prom and one big problem: her father (Larry Miller). He won't let her go unless her older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) agrees to attend as well. It looks like both girls are staying home, since independent and unconventional Kat has no interest in going -- until she meets the school's mysterious new bad boy, Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger). What she doesn't know is that her sister's suitors (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Andrew Keegan) have ponied up $300 to convince Patrick to woo her.

Coming out the same time as such comedies as "American Pie" and "She's All That", 10 Things I Hate About You truly holds it's own by supplying the right mixture of comedy and drama, but not going over the top.

The cast is simply amazing. Newcomer, Heath Ledger, is on top of his game; Julia Stiles continues her streak of solid performances, and the supporting cast of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, and Andrew Keegan really hit their mark and standout

As with most Walt Disney Home Entertainment releases, the picture quality is amazing (especially for a ten-year-old film). There is almost zero artifacting with a very wide range of colors that literally make the film pop off the screen. 

While you will not want to use 10 Things I Hate About You to showcase your home theater's audio capabilities, the new audio mix of Dolby Digital 5.1 DTS-Master holds its own for a comedy by providing the right mixture of front-loaded dialog with the surround soundtrack.

For the 10th anniversary Disney has packed the Blu-ray with a multitude of special features including a cast look back at the making of 10 Things I hate about you, deleted scenes, Cast and Audio Commentary tracks, and also Heath Ledger's screen test. The only glaring omission is a digital copy, which would be nice for the little ones to see this film while you are on the go.

If you are in the mood for a light comedy the entire family can watch then 10 Things I Hate About You is definitely your choice (and your young ones might no longer be squeamish when they here the name Heath Leger).