Remember that time you tried to watch 10 Things I Hate About You instead of reading Taming Of The Shrew for English class? Yeah, didn't really work out when you tried to write the essay on it did it? Turns out Heath Ledger wasn't in the original Shakespeare version FFS. 10 Things wasn't the only ’90's film that nicked it's storyline from Shakespeare, though. Come take a trip down memory lane with us as we revisit the impact The Bard had on the cinematic landscape of ’90's tweenage girl flicks.
Get Over it
The name of this film might not seem immediately familiar, but you’ve definitely seen it. It had Sisqo in it. Oh, yes, it's all coming back to you now, right? It was based on a Midsummer Night’s Dream and sees Ben Foster (now dating House of Cards’ Robin Wright IRL somehow) star as the ‘Demetrius’ character as he tries to get the Hermia character (his ex-girlfriend) back by auditioning for a school play called A Midsummer Night’s Rockin’ Eve. Mila Kunis also stars as Kirsten Dunst’s mate and the opening musical sequence is worth the £3.96 the film costs on Amazon alone; ‘William Shakespeare wrote a play, a long long time ago, about this chick called Hermia'. Catchy.
’
O
Big on the phwoar factor, (this film features both Josh Hartnett and Mekhi Phifer) this retelling of Othello features some classic ’90s themes in the form of sports teams and prestigious prep schools. Hugo (Josh Harnett) gets his beautiful, beautiful nose bent out of shape when his father raves about his pal Odin’s (Mekhi Pfifer) excellent basketball playing skills and does his best to ruin everything between Odin and his girlfriend Julia Stiles. As per the tale of Othello, things don't end well but my goodness Josh Hartnett looks banging when he's mad.
She's The Man
Oh, Amanda Bynes. Before everything went a bit wrong, the actress about a million times funnier than any of her other young Hollywood peers. Her turn in *She’s The Man, *based on Twelfth Night, sees her dressing up as a man to impersonate her erstwhile brother for the purpose of what can only be described as a very flimsy plot twist. The film also features an early turn from Channing Tatum in some of the worst clothes you’ve ever seen.
The Lion King
Like, duh. Simba's Hamlet and Scar is Claudius, Hamlet's evil uncle who murdered Hamlet's dad and took over the kingdom. What the Lion King 2 was based on, though, we've got no idea. And the less said about it the better if we're perfectly honest.
Follow Jess on Twitter @jess_commons
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.