If you’ve seen Easy A, then you probably already know a little about the power of the modern retelling. Easy A is Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, with perhaps a bit more liberties taken than with some of the others on this list. But it’s brilliant and witty and proves just how applicable literature written a hundred years ago can still be in our lives! Here are six other modern retellings that will make appreciate the classics all over again.
1. Lizzie Bennet Diaries
This beauty is a vlog series. I just recently watched the entire thing and it made me want to pick up Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice all over again. Lizzie Bennet is now a graduate student, studying Media and Communications, and the vlogs are part of her final projects. Bingley is a med-student, Jane is an aspiring fashion designer, Lydia’s about to turn eighteen, and Darcy owns a major media company. Lizzie’s reenactments of what happens in her family’s everyday life are hilarious and the series updates the classic without losing any of its original integrity (or forcing any antiquated notions onto the modern girl).
2. Clueless
Jane Austen’s Emma is probably one of her best works. The Gwyneth Paltrow movie adaptation is pretty great as well, but there’s something about this retelling, set in L.A. and revolving around petty, pretty rich girls, that really speaks to me. Cher is funny, ridiculous, and occasionally insightful. Just like Emma, she is always trying to do good. Also just like Emma, she’s always failing just a bit—because she just doesn’t quite understand all the issues at play. It stars Paul Rudd as her ex-step-brother. They tried to make a TV show following her later adventures but while that probably should have never happened, Clueless is a must-see. It also gives a whole new perspective of Iggy Azalea’s Fancy music video.
3. 10 Things I Hate About You
I watched 10 Things I Hate About You long before I ever even though about reading Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. As such, by the time I got around to it, I couldn’t really separate it from my perception of the play. That said, I like this version much better than the original. Starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles as the Petruchio and Kate characters, this retelling sets us in modern-day (or the 90s) Seattle. Young Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s arrival in school has him instantly falling in love with Bianca Stratford and then scheming to get her dad to allow her to go on a date with him. Includes Heath Ledger singing and dancing, in an effort to “sacrifice himself on the altar of dignity.” Swoon.
4. Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing
If you’ve seen The Avengers, then you already know and probably already love Joss Whedon’s work. Personally, I’ve never seen his more popular film (I know—I’m working on it) but I have seen this one and it is definitely worth the time. Filmed over one weekend at his personal home, this modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing uses the original dialogue (much like Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet—which is also good but I have a personal preference for both this play and this movie).
5. She’s The Man
Meet Amanda Bynes, before the breakdown and Twitter insults and repeated arrests. Back when she was a brunette and the type of funny and quirky we all secretly wanted to be, Amanda starred in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, playing Viola to Channing Tatum’s Duke Orsino. After the girls’ team at Cornwall is cut, Viola takes her brother’s spot at rival Illyria and joins the boys’ team to prove to her old school that girls can play as well as boys. Throw in some hilarious make-over scenes, a debutante ball, and some really great soccer moves and you really couldn’t have a better version of this Shakespearen classic.
6. She’s All That
Based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, She’s All That is a fairly classic story of a popular boy making a bet that he can make one of the least popular girls in school prom queen. Surprise, surprise he ends up liking her quite a bit more than expected. Though it has bits I’ve never quite gotten (seriously, that performance art scene just confuses me), overall it makes me pretty happy. The choreographed dance at Prom is probably one of the best and least realistic cinematic interpretations I’ve ever seen—it’s absolutely great. My Fair Lady is another retelling of this classic (though maybe not quite as fun) and rumor has it, ABC family has introduced a new sitcom, Selfie, that plays with the same concept. Any good? Only time will tell.