If there were a list of magic words guaranteed to get millennials excited, it would almost certainly include Lena Dunham, Carly Rae Jepsen, and 10 Things I Hate About You. So when news broke that the Girls creator was teaming up with the queen of 2010s pop for a stage version of the beloved 1999 rom-com—which starred Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger—we elder millennials were practically wagging our tails like excited puppies. Now, the musical has an official date, set to debut next August. Dunham is adapting the script with Jessica Huang, while Jepsen is writing the music and lyrics with Ethan Gruska.

10 Things has reached legendary status in the 27 years since its release, and its clever use of The Taming of the Shrew as inspiration definitely sparked a wave of Shakespeare-inspired rom-coms. This territory has been explored plenty since then, right up to 2023’s box-office hit Anyone But You, a loose, modern take on Much Ado About Nothing. It’s no surprise that Shakespeare’s love of mistaken identities, mix-ups, and grand public declarations translates so well to the big screen. As Anyone But You screenwriter Ilana Wolpert told Entertainment Weekly: “They are classic stories, they’re original plots. They are very, very simple, and they work.”

With that in mind, here are the best rom-coms based on Shakespeare plays to watch—or rewatch—now.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Based on: The Taming of the Shrew
Photo: Getty Images

Kat (Stiles) is an outspoken high school feminist, inspired by Shakespeare’s fiery Katherina Minola. Her lack of appeal to the boys at Padua High is shown through her love of books, black eyeliner, and combat trousers (yuck!), while her sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is the school’s Queen Bee and most sought-after romantic prize. Their protective father will only let Bianca date once Kat does, which leads hopeful suitor Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to recruit Patrick Verona (Ledger) to seduce Kat so he can take Bianca to a party.

This film gave us so much: Ledger belting out “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” from the bleachers, Alison Janney’s Ms. Perky secretly writing an erotic novel, and, of course, Kat’s famous poem, which ended: “I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call. But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.”

She’s the Man (2006)
Based on: Twelfth Night
Photo: ©DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection

Let’s be honest: On paper, this 2006 film doesn’t sound great—but over the years, it’s earned cult status for good reason. Borrowing the “female twin disguising herself as her twin brother” plot from Twelfth Night, Bynes plays teen soccer player Viola Hastings, who is “forced” to dress up as her brother, Sebastian, and attend his elite boarding school (Illyria Prep, a nod to the setting of Twelfth Night) so she can play on the boys’ soccer team after her own team gets cut. Predictably, Viola falls for her roommate, Duke Orsino, the hot captain played by Channing Tatum (in one of his first roles), while Duke’s crush Olivia (Laura Ramsey) falls for “Sebastian.” Come for Bynes’s spot-on comedic performance, stay for Vinnie Jones as “Coach Dinklage” and Tatum looking great in a vest.

John Tucker Must Die (2006)
Based on: The Merry Wives of Windsor
Photo: ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Do you remember when people went absolutely crazy for Jesse Metcalfe? After his role as the sexy, shirtless gardener on Desperate Housewives got an entire generation hot and bothered, 2006’s John Tucker Must Die was his big rom-com breakout. Loosely borrowing from The Merry Wives of Windsor—itself a celebration of female wit and intelligence—the film centers on three popular high school girls who discover they’re all dating the same serial cheater, basketball star John Tucker (Metcalfe). They join forces, recruit a new girl, Kate, and make sure she breaks John’s heart. If you needed a snapshot into the heIf you’re nostalgic for the early 2000s, this is the movie for you: it’s got cheerleaders, Ashanti, Penn Badgley, and Brittany Snow—plus a soundtrack featuring All American Rejects and OK Go.

Get Over It (2001)
Based on: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Photo: ©Dimension Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

Kirsten Dunst and Mila Kunis teamed up for this very loose 2001 take on Shakespeare’s most famous comedy about love. Here’s the setup: a group of high school students put on a modern version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, led by the eccentric drama teacher Dr. Desmond Forest Oates (played by Martin Short), who says lines like, “Bill Shakespeare was a wonderful poet. But Burt Bacharach he ain’t.” Berke Landers, the high school basketball star played by Ben Foster, has just been dumped by his girlfriend Allison, and—with help from his best friend Felix’s sister Kelly (Dunst)—joins the school play to try to win her back. A love triangle follows! The cast also includes Sisqo, Carmen Electra, Zoe Saldaña, and Coolio (yes, really). We miss the days of such quirky cameos.

Anyone But You (2023)
Based on: Much Ado About Nothing
Photo: ©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

After a quiet stretch for Shakespeare-inspired rom-coms, the genre came back strong in 2023 with this Sydney Sweeney-led film. The enemies-to-lovers story became a surprise box-office hit after gaining a lot of social media buzz (thanks in part to rumors about a possible romance between Sweeney and co-star Glen Powell). The script drew heavily from Much Ado About Nothing, with Bea and Ben’s names borrowed from the play’s Benedick and Beatrice, who trade witty barbs before falling for each other. In Anyone But You, Bea and Ben follow the classic “fake romance” rom-com setup and pretend to be a couple to get through a family wedding. Not only did this movie single-handedly prove that rom-coms can still be successful, but it also brought Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” back into the spotlight, where it belongs.

The Parent Trap (1998)
Based on: The Comedy of Errors
Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection

There’s nothing quite like Nancy Meyers’s rom-com world-building—from her cozy kitchens to her delightfully frazzled characters and their romantic ups and downs. Of course, this 1998 film relied on the (actually pretty unsettling) idea of twins being separated at a young age when their parents (played by Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson) divorced and moved to opposite sides of the world…until those twins turn things around after meeting at camp and switching places to reunite the family. While the original Shakespeare play centers on two sets of twins separated at birth, The Parent Trap has just one set, Hallie and Annie, and Lindsay Lohan plays both. It was a standout breakout performance that made her a true icon of the early 2000s.

Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about romantic comedies inspired by Shakespeare written in a natural helpful tone

General Questions

1 Wait Shakespeare wrote comedies I thought they were all tragedies like Romeo and Juliet

Yes he did Shakespeare wrote more comedies than tragedies While Romeo and Juliet is his most famous romance its a tragedy His comedies like Much Ado About Nothing Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Nights Dream are full of witty banter mistaken identities and happy endingsperfect source material for modern romcoms

2 So are these movies just old plays with a modern setting

Not exactly They are adaptations or reimaginings They take the core plot characters and themes from a Shakespeare play and translate them into a modern world For example a king might become a media mogul and a shipwreck might become a lost suitcase They keep the spirit of the story but make it relatable for todays audience

3 Im not a Shakespeare expert Will I still understand and enjoy these movies

Absolutely 100 The movies are designed to stand on their own You dont need any prior knowledge of Shakespeare to follow the story laugh at the jokes or root for the couple Knowing the original play is like having a fun secret but its not required

4 What are the six best ones youre talking about

While best is subjective the six most famous beloved and critically acclaimed Shakespeareinspired romcoms are

1 10 Things I Hate About You based on The Taming of the Shrew
2 Shes the Man based on Twelfth Night
3 Clueless based on Emma
4 Get Over It based on A Midsummer Nights Dream
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