From Shakespeare to Seattle to Tacoma: ’10 Things I Hate About You’ Turns 27

Romance Isn't Over

Twenty-seven years ago, on March 31, 1999, a film titled 10 Things I Hate about You was released, modernizing the classic Shakespearean play, The Taming of the Shrew.” The rom-com does a phenomenal job incorporating actual story elements from the play, as well as inserting direct dialogue into the film.

Seattle and Tacoma Sites, Killer Soundtrack

With the filming locations including iconic scenery found here in Washington, this movie was a story shot right in our backyard. It captures the urban beauty of the waterfront and the steep hillsides of the Pacific Northwest.

The soundtrack has a way of kicking into the slide from the ’90s into the 2000s era, with the artist Letters to Cleo dominating the film in the best ways.

The very elaborate, castle-like high school in the film is an actual school called Stadium High School in Tacoma.

Read More: Netflix Movie Train Dreams Was Filmed All Over WA State

A True Coming of Age Tale

10 Things I Hate About You is a romantic story of overcoming past trauma, as well as being willing to explore all that life has to offer, to take a chance and to live a little. The rom-com speaks to our hearts with powerful language that shows the classics still got it!

The movie follows a senior in high school who is seen as the “shrew” (Julia Stiles) and scares all the boys around her. Her younger sister wishes to date; however, to do this, a rule was set that her older sister needed to date first.

A plan is concocted, roping in the notorious bad boy in school, Heath Ledger, who is paid to get our “shrew” out on a date.

Where to Watch 10 Things I Hate About You

You can find the film streaming on Disney+ and/or likely on DVD at your local library. You can also likely find the original Shakespeare play The Taming of the Shrew at your library, too.

Search for them at your local bookstore, including these located in Yakima:

• Encore Books (415 W Walnut St)
• Inklings Bookshop (5629 Summitview Ave)
• The Yakima Book Co (1115 W Lincoln Ave Suite 107)
• Churchill's Booklover's Haunt (125 S 2nd St)

In the words of both Shakespeare and our modernized retelling from our shrew,
“I burn, I pine, I perish.”

10 Things I Hate About You has captured the hearts of viewers for well over two decades, and with it being from Washington State. our neck of the woods, I don’t see it fading anytime soon.

This is a movie classic, as it piggybacks off one of the best writers in literature. So, let’s celebrate this film’s 27-year birthday and enjoy it, whether it be on our own for a feel-good moment, or a shared moment with those we love.