Young cast gets it right

In 10 Things I Hate About You, Kat (Julia Stiles) and Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) are sisters who are different in just about every way.

Bianca is good looking, popular and shallow. Kat is a pain in the ass, “incapable of human interaction”. Part of the problem is their father, Walter (Larry Miller) an uptight gynaecologist who’s left to bring up his daughters after his wife does a runner.

He’s got one golden rule, Bianca can’t go on a date until her sister does. This rule represents a major problem for Bianca, since Kat has no intention of having anything to do with boys.

As the prom approaches, Bianca finds herself the object of two boys’ hormone-driven affections: cool dude Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan) and dorky Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

Joey and Cameron set about finding a date for Kat and pay Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), the local bad boy, to do the dirty deed.

Patrick manages to break through the iron maiden’s defences and finds a relatively warm heart beating beneath. When he realises he actually likes her, the real fun begins.

Despite having a cast of relative newcomers, the acting is well up to scratch. Julia Stiles gets it just right as the tempestuous Kat whose sullenness hides a bubbling sensuality. She’s capably matched by her romantic counterpart, Heath Ledger.

Larisa Oleynik is equally good as the pretty-but-petty Bianca and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the guy everyone hopes gets the girl. As Cameron’s best friend, David Krumholtz provides comic relief, and Andrew Keegan is effective as the oily villain.