With roughly 400 years since Shakespeare’s passing, the Bard of Avon’s work still seems as relevant as ever. Film adaptions of his plays have been a reality since the 1920s, the beauty of the plays on the stage transferring well to the screen.
However, as time has gone on film adaptions have become less and less obviously Shakespearean. Some of these adaptions are popular teen movies dating back to the 80s, many of which cleverly adopted many themes of Shakespeare’s original plays.
Valley Girl (1983)
While Valley Girl may not be the best Romeo and Juliet adaptation, with Romeo + Juliet being a great Shakespeare movie for beginners, it has some great alludes to the original play. Where Romeo and Juliet is a sad tragedy, Valley Girl is a heartwarming love story.
This film is an 80’s classic about a valley snob, Julie, and a punk rocker, Randy who unexpectedly falls in love. While they aren’t from feuding families, these two young lovers are from very different worlds. Despite the fact that some people in their lives disapprove of the relationship, they end up loving each other in the end. One may not obviously see The Bard of Avon’s play in this movie, but it has definite plot similarities cleverly hidden in a teen rom-com.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is arguably one of the most hated plays of his, mainly for the overt misogyny it presents. Yet its adaption, 10 Things I Hate About You, is one of the best movies based on Shakespeare plays. This film is about a feminist that learns to love despite her reservations, following the plot of the play while also breaking down the hateful societal standards of Shakespeare’s time.
What this movie does amazingly well is taking the aspects of Katherine from the play, like her refusal to accept a suitor, and using the character of Kate to transform the “shrew” into a relatable teen girl that’s scared of letting someone hurt her. While it’s almost impossible to tell this is based on a Shakespeare play if it’s not known, this teen drama for the ages takes the difficult emotions from the play and transforms it into something malleable teens can relate to.
O (2001)
Othello is one of the most difficult plays of the Bard’s, mainly because it’s fueled by systemic racism and fatal deception. The teen drama, O, follows the tale quite closely. While the play follows the racism and money-hungry time period it reflects, this modern drama film shows the toxic environment of privilege in high school and how the toxicity of it can lead to such tragic outcomes.
O follows the story of Odin Jame’s downfall after he bests a fellow basketball player and this player spreads rumors and lies. The story eventually leads to Odin’s downward spiral with violence and drugs that result in his strangling his girlfriend to death. Though this film takes the viewer for a crazy ride of teenage vengeance and betrayal, it plays with some serious themes from Shakespeare’s classic.
Get Over It (2001)
This movie is one of the lesser-known adaptations, but one that follows the themes of the Bard well. Get Over It is loosely based on the comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The film follows a heartbroken boy as he tries to win back his ex, which is not unlike Demetrius’s attempt to win back Hermia in the play.
This teen drama has a lot of light-hearted, romantic themes that the play revolves around. However, the plot differs a lot from the play, with the performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream being an axis for the drama within the film to revolve around. Though one of the least related adaptions of Shakespeare’s plays, it presents the main themes of the play to an audience of teens looking for a quaint, comedic story.
She’s The Man (2006)
She’s the Man, one of the many roles no one can forget Amanda Bynes starred in, is based on one of Shakespeare’s most loved plays, Twelfth Night. This film, much like the play, follows a young girl that cross-dresses to get what she wants in a man’s world.
Viola Hastings disguises herself as her twin brother to play soccer in this teen comedy. She ends up falling for her (brother’s) roommate, Duke, who feels betrayed when she’s revealed, but then ends up forgiving her. This is much like the plot of Twelfth Night, though Viola disguises herself for her safety rather than to get into an activity that excludes women. Though this film does not portray the violence and danger of the play, it follows the general themes but in a more light-hearted, teen-friendly setting.
Warm Bodies (2013)
Romeo and Juliet comes up once more in this list, which is understandable considering it’s such a vastly adapted play of Shakespeare’s it’s quoted in famous movies like New Moon without viewers even realizing it’s Shakespeare’s tragic young love story being alluded to.
Warm Bodies is about a Zombie, R, who, after eating her boyfriend’s brains, falls in love with a human girl named Julie. Once it’s understood, the movie quite obviously follows the star-crossed lovers trope. However, the aspect of zombies and a world apocalypse does make the allusion to Shakespeare’s tragedy harder to pick up.
