All the world’s a stage — and the perfect inspiration for a romantic comedy plot line! Many beloved romance-focused movies have taken inspiration from the Bard himself: William Shakespeare.
10 Things I Hate About You, the 1999 cult classic that starred Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, was initially inspired by The Taming of the Shrew.
The movie followed sisters Kat and Bianca Stratford (played by Stiles and Larisa Oleynik, respectively) as they navigated high-school romances. While Bianca was forbidden to date until her older sister did, Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) concocted a scheme to be able to ask out Bianca: Get resident bad boy Patrick Verona (Ledger) to woo Kat.
The movie’s plot is similar to the 16th-century play, in which Lucentio is unable to marry Bianca until her “shrewish” older sister, Katherina, marries first. The eccentric Petruccio teams up with Lucentio to charm the reluctant Katherina and turn her into an obedient wife.
Scroll below for more of the best romantic comedies that were adapted from Shakespearean origins:
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