1999 Movie Named Best Date Night Movie Ever And It Stars a Tragic Star
In some ways, the movie named by fans as the best movie to watch on a date night has some negatives. For starters, it stars an actor who met a tragic death. And for another, the name is, 10 Things I Hate About You.
Still, the 1999 movie ranked at the top of the date night list in an article posted by Ranker. Fans chose the Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles vehicle with more than 1,700 votes. Ranker described it as a "modern retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew," adding, "This film juxtaposes sharp-witted humor with romance, as the central characters discover their own depth and complexity in their high school relationships."
Ranker Praised the Movie's 'Iconic Performances'
Ledger had several legendary performances before he died, and, according to Ranker, this is one of them.
"Iconic performances by Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger make for swoon-worthy moments throughout the film. As the characters navigate love, trust, and friendship, this rom-com will undoubtedly have viewers both laughing and feeling sentimental," added Ranker.
Ledger died at the age of 28 on an accidental overdose. He was found lying in bed in 2008 with a movie script next to him, according to The New York Post.
The movie is available to stream on Netflix for those who want to "Netflix and chill." The Netflix caption says, "After discovering his high school crush can't date until her brash older sister does, a lovesick teen enlists a bad-boy classmate to woo her." The movie's genre is romantic comedy.
The film doesn't fare as well on Rotten Tomatoes, where it only has a 69% positive audience score. "Kat Stratford is beautiful, smart and quite abrasive to most of her fellow teens, meaning that she doesn't attract many boys," the Rotten Tomatoes description says. The movie only fares slightly better with critics on that site.
"Unfortunately for her younger sister, Bianca, house rules say that she can't date until Kat has a boyfriend, so strings are pulled to set the dour damsel up for a romance. Soon Kat crosses paths with handsome new arrival Patrick Verona. Kat may let her guard down enough to fall for the effortlessly charming Patrick."
However, the critics' consensus on Rotten Tomatoes says, "Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger add strong performances to an unexpectedly clever script, elevating 10 Things (slightly) above typical teen fare." One fan offered a nuanced review on that site, writing, "There are perfect movies and there are movies where I just don't care about the imperfections. 10 Things I Hate About You is a perfect example of the latter. Not every line of dialogue makes sense, like most of Michael's lines would never come out of a real person's mouth, but he just works. Just like all the other stereotypical characters. The little arcs are great, the story is predictable, but also very rewarding. The characters are iconic and really likeable."
What Were the Other Movies Ranked High on the Best Date Night Movie List?
Here are the other movies in the top 10 on the list of best date night movies:
2. The Princess Bride
3. The Proposal
4. 50 First Dates
5. The Notebook
6. Pretty Woman
7. Love Actually
8. Dirty Dancing
9. Lady and the Tramp
10. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
You can see the full list on the Ranker site here.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 7, 2026 at 7:13 AM.