Wednesday Rewind: 10 Things I Hate About You by @destroytheearth

A 90s, teen rom-com. Is there a more terrifying two and two-half word phrase in the English language?

Nonetheless, 10 Things I Hate About You is held as a hipster classic. What's going on here? Hit the jump to find out:

Shakespeare has a lot to answer for. Oh, he is a titan of the literary world, but he has also inspired many lesser writers to attempt to copy him. I once saw an amateur production of Othello, where they struggled to find a black actor to play the lead, but thought "The Shade" kinda sounded like something from Stargate; so made Othello an alien... with gills...

Then there's the film world; for every Forbidden Planet, we have She's All That, She's The Man or O: rubbish teen hokum that likes to think it's intelligent because it's based on The Bard.

10 Things... falls squarely into this category, but comes out smelling like roses. How? Well, firstly, it manages to insert actual Shakespearean prose into the modern dialogue and make it sound casual, no mean feat; but most of all, probably because of the cast.

We have a pre-fame Heath Ledger; Joseph Gordon-Levitt, back when he was that girly kid from 3rd Rock From The Sun, instead of that acting god from Brick; Larissa Oleynick, who is brilliant despite only being known for an obscure kids sci-fi show; and Julia Stiles... who is also good... for a change....

Above all else, for all its self conciousness, this is a damn funny film. The guidance counsellor alone is a classic comic character and it is a tragedy that she only sticks around long enough to introduce the characters.

Elsewhere, Heath's version of I Love You Baby, Stiles plan to get him out of detention, the over-protective obstetrician dad who's dedicated to ensuring his daughters aren't teen mothers, all classic moments that elevate this film above teen rubbish like Mean Girls to something you should all own.