On the surface, 10 Things I Hate About You may seem like another cliche, Disney-style romantic comedy, but it’s much more than that. This 1999 film takes a simple coming-of-age plot with common high school stereotypes and develops it to show the many facets of personality that real high school students have, while still taking the audience on an entertaining, hilarious journey.
The film follows Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he falls in love with a popular girl, Bianca (Larisa Oleynik). The only problem is that Bianca’s father would only allow her to date Cameron if her stubborn, anti-social older sister, Kat (Julia Stiles), also dates somebody. To get around this issue, Cameron pays the school’s resident bad boy, Patrick (Heath Ledger), to try and charm Kat.
The most notable aspect of high school life that the film explores is the struggle of breaking from feminine stereotypes, while holding onto your own sense of self. At the beginning of the movie, Kat is labeled as an opinionated, feminist rebel who doesn’t care what people think of her. Kat struggles with showing vulnerability and care for the people around her, which is the cause of some of her abrasive nature. Unlike countless other rom-coms, where the stubborn girl becomes soft and falls for her dream boy, Kat keeps her harsher aspects, but with an added layer of vulnerability and a deeper understanding of herself. Although Kat does still fall in love, she manages to hold onto her personality in spite of this. The idea of love turning a girl soft produces a narrative that girls who have loud opinions and rebel against the feminine molds society has put them in are in need of being tamed. It simply isn’t realistic to think that falling in love can cause someone’s whole personality to change. Kat is a prime example of a character who realistically develops throughout the film, but never loses the essence of her character. 
Kat is not the only character who matures. Patrick also goes through significant development, showing the audience what’s underneath his bad-boy demeanor in a way that breaks from common rom-com tropes. He begins the film as an unapproachable, rigid character. As time progresses, however, he begins to show how deeply he has come to care for Kat and goes to extensive lengths to show it. The most notable example of this is his rendition of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” which he sings to Kat in front of several other students. Patrick is interested in Kat and loves her despite her unwavering, stubborn personality. While Kat does fall for Patrick, it is obvious that Patrick falls even harder — another example of the film going against stereotype. By the end of 10 Things I Hate About You, it is obvious that Patrick’s outer demeanor isn’t the only part of his personality. His development is realistic, even if his venture into singing isn’t.
Cameron is another example of the film’s characters breaking from the unrealistic stereotypes present in other rom coms. He is not the archetypal loser new kid who lets the popular girl walk all over him. He is brand new to the school, crushes on the popular girl, and goes to extensive lengths just to get her attention, even learning
French so he could tutor her and spend time with her. He is very straightforward with his intentions and has realistic reactions to events in the film. When Bianca treats him badly near the end of the film, he confronts her. Commonly in other rom coms, one person in a relationship is so smitten with the other, that they ignore their obvious faults. Cameron is not so in love with Bianca that he puts her on a pedestal and ignores all of her mistakes. Much like real life, he reacts and becomes upset when not treated well. While his complaints abruptly end when Bianca kisses him, he is still an example of the film tearing down stereotypes.
10 Things I Hate About You delivers a realistic, entertaining view of how high schoolers break from stereotypes, while maintaining the essence of their character.
