10 Things I Hate About You parents guide

10 Things I Hate About You Parent Guide

Overall D+

This teen romance is loosely based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.

Release date March 30, 1999

Violence C+
Sexual Content C-
Profanity D
Substance Use D

Why is 10 Things I Hate About You rated PG-13? The MPAA rated 10 Things I Hate About You PG-13 for crude sex-related humor and dialogue, alcohol and drug related scenes, all involving teens.

Run Time: 95 minutes minutes

Parent Movie Review

This film provides the perfect example of Ten Things I Hate About Teen Movies:

1) The central setting is usually in a school, and the last thing likely to happen is education.

10 Things I Hate About You 2) School staff include Hitler-like principals, ignorant uncaring teachers, and sex obsessed counselors. (Some movies allow a “normal” teacher when he or she is romantically involved with a main character in the film. No school staff fall into that category in this film.)

3) Plots are oh-so-loosely based on classic literature. This film looks to Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew for its original conception, appealing to desperate English teachers trying to convince teens that the Bard is okay.

4) Parents are reactionary and their attempts to be “cool” while communicating with their children will end in comical failure.

10 Things I Hate About You 5) Rich teens are important teens, otherwise, you’re an extra hanging around in the background like wallpaper. The “importants” wear designer gear and female importants must bare their navels (and, in this movie, other body parts) frequently.

6) All efforts to discourage teens from using alcohol and drugs are flushed down the pipe.

7) You date to have sex. Nothing else. Virginity is a plague that must be eliminated before graduation. Sex is the major topic of all discussions, including comparison of anatomical sizes and, in this film, a suggestion of bestiality.

10 Things I Hate About You 8) The seemingly nice guy that dad wants you to date turns out to be a jerk. The dark, mysterious bad dude (this one creates weapons in shop class) turns out to be a nice guy after all. We just had to get to know him.

9) You’re likely to get a detention for the most menial infraction, but there are rarely consequences for things like physical assault.

10) Hollywood execs know that in four years a whole new crop of teens will ante up an hour and a half worth of part time wages to see this schlock again.

Starring Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles. Running time: 95 minutes minutes. Theatrical release March 30, 1999. Updated

10 Things I Hate About You Parents' Guide

If your teens see this movie, talk to them about the negative attitudes portrayed by many of the characters. Do they think their friends resemble the teens portrayed in these movies. Do these movies depict the reality of young people today? How do they feel about the ten points mentioned above? Have they noticed these recurring themes in “teen” movies?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of 10 Things I Hate About You movie is October 11, 1999. Here are some details…