Nurse Betty (2000) User Reviews

The Yellow Brick Road to Rome

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 20 August 2013]

In a small Kansas town, beautiful blonde waitress Renee Zellweger (as Betty Sizemore) enjoys watching her favorite soap opera "A Reason to Love" starring handsome doctor Greg Kinnear (as George "David Ravell" McCord). Following a tragedy, Ms. Zellweger traumatically imagines she is a character in the soap opera she adores. As if she was on the TV show, Zellweger wants to work as a nurse and romance Mr. Kinnear. Tied in with the tragedy, her criminal Kansas customers Morgan Freeman (as Charlie) and Chris Rock (as Wesley) follow Zellweger westward, looking for drugs...

This could have been brilliant...

Artfully directed by Neil LaBute, the story by John C. Richards, "Nurse Betty" almost works. We have parallel American dream stories. First, there is the longing of Zellweger for the seemingly unattainable world existing only in "Hollywood". Knocked out of her mind by violent reality, she begins to live her dream. In her delirium, Zellweger pursues TV star Kinnear, with whom she has an imagined relationship. While this occurs, a more subtle loss of mind is experienced by Mr. Freeman, who begins to fall in love with Zellweger's character. A violent old Black criminal fantasizes a relationship with a pretty young White woman. Even more daring is which relationship is given the go, and which one is stopped dead in its tracks...

Black comedy, indeed...

Also a problem is the characterization of Freeman's sidekick, essayed by Mr. Rock. The professional comedian is the least funny (and most dispensable) of the comedy's quartet. If his reason for being there is meant to soften Freeman's character, it doesn't work. Freeman is made more despicable due to his connection with Rock's completely unlikable character. Perhaps the goal was to pair up the accomplished actor with the abrasive comedian. Actors and comics are not always interchangeable. Rock is unable to nail it down. There is promise in Rock's performance, though. He can also look to Kinnear for inspiration; a failed reporter then funny talk show host, Kinnear should have a shelf of "Supporting Actor" awards.

******* Nurse Betty (5/11/00) Neil LaBute ~ Renee Zellweger, Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Chris Rock

Nurse Betty focuses on an unhappily married coffee shop waitress in Kansas, whose ungratifying life blends with her fascination for soap operas as a form of escapism.

[chrisbrown6453 · 7/10 · 11 July 2001]

As Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger) secretly watches her tyrannical husband Del (Aaron Eckhart) being murdered by the vengeful hitmen Charlie and Wesley (Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock), her bruised sense of reality becomes totally immersed in the fantasy world of her favorite soap opera. In a state of complete denial and delusion, Betty escapes both physically and mentally from her unsatisfied, small town life to search for "Dr. David Ravell" (Greg Kinnear), the handsome and loving hero of "A Reason to Love", a soap opera set in a hospital and produced in Los Angeles. Immune to reality, Betty arrives in L.A. and becomes "Nurse Betty" as she tries to belong in the hospital world of her dream lover. Meanwhile, the angered Charlie and Wesley track Betty down, convinced she is a dangerous witness who also knows about their compromising dealings with Del.

Nurse Betty creates comedy and suspense by contrasting its main character's extreme innocence and optimism with the evident hypocrisy and violence that surround her. By clearly defining the protagonist's difficult life, Nurse Betty justifies its character's tendency to turn away from reality. Thus, while offering a comment about the popularity of the soap opera within the film, Nurse Betty also makes a comment regarding the widespread addiction to television and its celebrities. In addition, Nurse Betty benefits from the effective manipulation of its protagonist's mental state, particularly in those scenes where she cannot distinguish between "Dr. David Ravell", the character, and George McCord (Greg Kinnear), the actor who plays him. Betty's incapacity to recognize George as an actor leads to funny misunderstandings, which stress the magnitude of her delusional state. However, in spite of these successes, Nurse Betty suffers from the troubling characterizations through which the narration evolves. For example, while Charlie and Wesley are consistently portrayed as a comical pair, the brutality of their actions undermines any sense of appreciation or acceptance the viewer might have initially experienced. Similarly, although the initial scenes establish Del as a detestable man, the humiliation and violence he experiences with his murderers surpass all the humiliation and violence he caused his wife Betty.

Finally, toward the end of the film, Charlie undergoes awkward transformations as he develops an obsession for Betty; an obsession which results in noble feelings of love, and which ultimately destroys him. Consequently, since the characters' roles as victims lack consistency, the story's victimization processes seem random and unsubstantial. All in all, Nurse Betty's indeterminacy --rather than creating suspense-- weakens its characters and pollutes its plot.

Nurse Betty

[jboothmillard · 6/10 · 15 April 2008]

This could almost be along the lines of another nut-case film, along the lines of Misery, where the leading female character is so obsessed with a fictional character, but you can sympathise with this one. Basically Betty Sizemore (Golden Globe winning Renée Zellweger) is a Kansas city waitress, and her favourite show is "A Reason to Love", but she doesn't realise it is only a soap opera. In her house, she witnesses the murder of her husband Del (Aaron Eckhart), while watching the show, but instead of telling the truth, she lied and said it was a friend of hers. Her favourite doctor (character) is Dr. David Ravell, played by actor George McCord (Greg Kinnear), and delusional with shock she is convinced that he is her former fiancée, so she decides to go to LA and find him. She first tries the hospital and fails, but with the help of Rosa Hernandez (Tia Texada) she finds "David", and he (George) is convinced she is a very talented improvising actress that wants to be in the show, so he obviously plans to put her in it. Meanwhile, Betty's husband's murderers, father Charlie (Morgan Freeman) and son Wesley (Chris Rock) are searching for the drugs stolen by Del, and they happen to be in the trunk of Betty's car, so they obviously set out to find her, and Charlie's sees it as his last "job" before retirement, but he is becoming delusional about her. Also starring Back to the Future's Crispin Glover as Roy Ostery, Pruitt Taylor Vince as Sheriff Eldon Ballard, Allison Janney as Lyla Branch and Harriet Sansom Harris as Ellen. Zellweger is really good as the delusional but sweet wannabe nurse, Freeman is always good, Rock is good in this non-comedic (but still loudmouth) role, and Kinnear has his moments as the actor, a good, maybe underrated film. Good!

For The Adventurous Only

[Zen Bones · 25 March 2002]

People keep asking "is this a romantic comedy?", "a black comedy?", "a violent thriller?". If you're the kind of person who is not comfortable with a film unless you can safely store it into one of five or six comfy little categories, move on (or as Jack Black says, "go to the mall!"). To quote Roger Ebert, "audiences lobotomized by one-level stories may find this confusing". It's really a sweet little comedy that breaks a number of 'sweet little comedy' rules, by introducing real terror and a few (count 'em - 3) scenes with a bit of gore. Like Jonathan Demme's minor masterpiece, SOMETHING WILD, we are taken out of a safe little world (Kansas, literally) to another dimension. This dimension is part Oz and part grit. Oz is the fantasy life of the main characters (for Zellweger it's Kinnear, the fictional doctor on a soap opera, and for Freeman it's Zellweger, who he sees as a sort of modern Doris Day). Intertwined with the fantasy is the frighteningly realistic fact that Freeman and his son Wesley, are hit men. What hit men do ain't pretty. I'm personally relieved that this is not a cute comedy with 'widdle cuddwly' hit men who are really not so bad because after all, their violence is bloodless: we can overlook what they do. UH-UH! We are not left off the hook that easily! On the other hand, Morgan Freeman is an authentically charming guy, and in many ways, this film contains some of the most sparkling romance (real and/or imagined) that's been seen on the screen in a long time! This indeed is a film that breaks many conventions while celebrating others, but be forewarned, this is not a safe, cuddly film. You're not in Kansas anymore!

Winning romantic comedy and fantasy.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 28 September 2008]

Renee Zellweger is a Kansas housewife whose domineering husband is mixed up in drug trafficking. Two professional hit men -- Morgan Freeman and his son, Chris Rock, murder the husband in his dining room. Zellweger, unobserved by the killers, witnesses this and undergoes a dissociative reaction, assuming the personality of a nurse -- the eponymous Betty -- who is a character in her favorite soap opera. Believing herself to be the TV character, Zellweger takes off in her husband's car, which has a load of dope in the trunk, and travels to LA where she hopes to link up with another character in this mindless afternoon drama, "Dr. David Ravell", Greg Kinnear. Not realizing she is being pursued by the two hit men, she drives to LA where she manages to link up with Kinnear and is actually written into the show as a nurse named Betty. A handful of men in the know, including the local sheriff, catch on to what's happening and also seek Zellweger in LA. The ending is believable and poignant.

If that sounds crazy, it's because it is. And it's the writer's responsibility, John C. Richards. The curious thing is that Richards and the director, Neil Labute, with considerable help from the performers, just about pull it all off. This isn't a plot that has been cast in a familiar mold. Nope. I give it bonus points for sheer originality. Somebody went out on a limb. Somebody took a chance on a movie that was NOT a copy or remake of something that had made money ten years or fifty years ago. I imagine the people involved, down on their knees every night, praying fervently. I don't know if the film was remunerative but it's mostly successful on its own aesthetic terms.

It's what might be called an "initial premise" movie. You start off with a single transformative event, in this case the murder of Zellweger's husband and her adoption of a genuinely new personality, and follow the resultant logical paths realistically. "Groundhog Day" is another, better and more intricately plotted, example. "Nurse Betty" has its logical cracks, where the incidents give up their plausibility. Eg., at a party in LA, Zellweger finally runs into Kinnear, the guy who plays her ex-fiancé on TV. She's stunned (because, after all, she thinks she's Betty, who lost her fiancé long ago). She approaches Kinnear and a couple of his colleagues and introduces herself as "Nurse Betty", the character. She addresses Kinnear by the name of his TV character, "David Ravell." The group are puzzled at first, then convince themselves that she's an aspiring actress who insists on staying "in character" during the conversation -- and afterward, too, after Kinnear has become fascinated by her and the others bored. Kinnear drives her home and even when she kisses him goodnight, she's still in character, leaving Kinnear wide-eyed with astonishment at the relentless way she captures the character of Betty. On the next date, Kinnear returns her love. That development, the relationship between Zellweger and Kinnear at this point, is a crack in the logic, the kind that's absent from "Groundhog Day." By the end of Night One, Kinnear, like any other person, would realize that Zellweger is a few clowns short of a circus.

The rest of the film, which includes many digressions, succeeds beyond expectations. The relationship between Morgan Freeman and his insolent, nihilistic son is marvelously spelled out. Morgan is flawless in his exasperation. He manages to fall in love with the image of Zellweger as he unearths clues to her whereabouts and activities, and at the end he can't bring himself to shoot her. She's too sweet to shoot. After her transformation into Betty, she left a note behind in Kansas. "I want to help all life, whether it be animal, plant, or mineral." Who could harm the author of such a preposterous connative statement? His admiration of her comes as an epiphany, as he stands near one of the floodlights at the rim of the Grand Canyon. Zellweger, dressed as Dorothy, or maybe the Good Witch of the East -- well, characters that, like Zellweger, are from Kansas anyway -- appears to Freeman and he embraces her and kisses her tenderly. It's a scene that's at once eerie, romantic, and a little spooky. I once stood at one of those lights and threw some shredded paper into the updraft from the dark canyon and found myself surrounded by a thousand swirling bats who had misperceived the fluttering shreds as moths.

Right. Where was I? Okay. I was trying not to run out of space. Zellweger's performance deserves plaudits. Everything she does, every movement, every utterance, is naive and tentative. She really IS a likable character -- and that despite the fact that she's no glamor girl by Hollywood standards. But -- what an actress. Compare her performance as the bumptious 19th-century hick in "Cold Mountain." Just the opposite. But then everyone is up to snuff in this enjoyable film. Allyson Jannings does a fine job in a minor role. Watch her when she tells Greg Kinnear that she's considering killing off his character in the soap opera in a drowning accident. Kinnear is one of those narcissists who wears the kind of ten-thousand dollar thin black leather jackets that were popular at the time. He chuckles and says, "Oh, one of those castaway deals, right? Okay, how do I get back?" Jannings doesn't answer. She just smiles at him with those enormous blue eyes and tilts her head mockingly.

Not a masterpiece of film-making but a good, original, professional job by everyone concerned.

Dark humor

[btreakle · 7/10 · 6 January 2021]

This certainly wasn't one of my most favourite fails with Chris Rock and Morgan Freeman but it's still a decent 1 with dark humour it's mild comedy and yet some shooting and killing

A pretty good commercial film

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 8 September 2000]

Well another indie director goes Hollywood. Neil LaBute after "In the Company of Men" and "Your Friends and Neighbors", turns out a pretty good commercial comedy drama. On those terms, it's good--but when you compare it to his earlier films, it's really depressing. "In the Company.." and "Your Friends..." were depressing but fascinating films about men and women and their interactions. This movie has no character development, tries too hard to be cute and quirky and (worst of all) has two hit men--one philisophical and one a violent, profane lunatic. Gee, that's original! The thing that makes the movie bearable is all the acting is good and some of the lines are hilarious. So, if you go in expecting a typical Hollywood film, you won't be disappointed.

great and good actors but the script is bad

[boulous · 3/10 · 10 September 2001]

the gangsters had great actors able to fill the parts, but their part of the story was flawed.

too many unbelievable jumps in the story's progress. The third act is very weak.

if this movie is supposed to be commentary on regular people's loosing themselves in soap operas, I think the creators of this movie lack the ability to drive the heavy machinery of taking a picture of the picture.

It was as if a young inexperienced film maker was given more than they could handle....

Inventive and weirdly funny throughout, but touching, too, and Zellweger amazes!

[secondtake · 8/10 · 1 May 2010]

Nurse Betty (2000)

This is a sleeper, a dark comedy with enough inventive twists to call to mind The Truman Show but with a greater sense of reality to hold it down. Renee Zellweger is flawless as the naive, sweet, but utterly detached young woman named Betty who is addicted to a soap opera called "A Reason to Love." This seems sweet enough, but her husband is a jerk (totally) and things start to spiral, and get dizzy, as reality even for the viewer starts to shift ground.

Not that you are ever confused about what is happening or who the good guys are. The good guys are not Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock, for sure, as this unlikely and comedic father and son duo get involved, incidentally at first, in Betty's strange inner and outer life. A chase of sorts ensues, the soap opera becomes reality, and then reality becomes soap opera. And it's really hilarious and inventive and fast paced.

Is it a total work of genius? Probably not. Maybe Charlie Kaufman would have added another twist in there (I'm not sure how), and certainly some of the side characters could have seemed less cardboard, or less awkward as actors. But Zellweger is unbelievable (really, your jaw might drop at how convincing she could play her mental blindness, and her awakening, of sorts). And Morgan Freeman is his usually convincing and engaging self.

The utterly disgusting violence of one 20 second scene might turn off some viewers near the beginning, but if you can keep watching, the movie gets better from there. Much better.

it's no 'chick flick'

[rebeljenn · 7/10 · 21 February 2006]

'Nurse Betty' is a film about a woman who witnesses her husband in an accident, and she becomes obsessed with the star of a soap opera, whom she goes to stalk. A lot of silliness happens along the way.

Renee Zwelleger's character is charming as a naive Nurse Betty struck in love with the celebrity. The film itself combines a romantic comedy with thriller to create a unique film in its own category. The film is exciting and hilarious, and it plays on so many other emotions. It really is worth watching, despite what you may have read or heard or seen in the trailers. I think this is one of those films that has not been given much of a chance and is grossly under-rated by a wider audience. Just see it for yourself; and no, it is not a 'chick flick'.

Bad aftertaste...

[Brian-268 · 1/10 · 24 September 2000]

To sum this movie up, it is LaBute carrying his sadism over into the realm of comedic farce. The predictable result is that he is constantly stepping on all the jokes by insisting on surrounding them with blood-curdling violence and extremely hateful characters. There is also evidence of his continuing efforts to insult and ridicule everything in sight but then to apologize for it with weak gestures to the PC. Basically the movie just doesn't work, its plot is beyond contrived, the characters are one-dimensional cliches, there is no consistency or development of anything, and the comedy (where it is not totally out of place) is the worst kind of High Concept drivel.

Morgan Freeman and Renee Zellweger are completely wasted on characters that seem like parodies of studio-driven audience pandering--no matter what, make them likeable, neutral (and neutered), and full of moral platitudes. Crispin Glover is in here just long enough to convince you that he doesn't belong in movies anymore. Chris Rock actually has negative chemistry with fellow hitman Freeman--it's as if they are acting in different rooms even when they are two inches away from each other. In effect, Chris Rock seems like a digital insert. At least he isn't as annoying as Jar-Jar.

LaBute's 15 minutes may well be up by now. It's already looking like he's overstayed his welcome.

An underrated movie on how people sometimes don't see the difference between reality and fiction

[philip_vanderveken · 8/10 · 6 January 2005]

Nurse Betty is really an interesting movie. I guess we all know someone who is so convinced that the characters in a soap opera are real, that you can't explain them with any means that these are just actors and not real persons.

'Nurse Betty' isn't a nurse at all. In real life she is an ordinary housewife who works at a diner. To escape from her awful husband and the problems in her miserable life, she has become a very dedicated fan of a soap opera. After she witnessed her husband being murdered, she goes into some kind of a shock and she loses all grip on reality. She thinks she's in love with one of the characters from the soap opera, a doctor, and decides that she'll visit him and start a family with him. The hit men however think that she knows too much and go after her to kill her.

As I already said, the subject is quite recognizable (if you leave the professional hit men and the murder out of it) and the movie was funny. The story was well directed and the actors did a fine job. It had everything I always want to see when watching a comedy. I give it a 7.5/10.

Between two stools

[neil-476 · 6/10 · 15 April 2008]

I have nothing against filmmakers making films which blend genres - I recognise that it is a brave and experimental step to take. But there is a reason why such films are not attempted very often and that is the risk that, rather than capture (in this case) the audiences for both sweet comedies and violent crime thrillers, you might end up losing both audiences.

The indifferent box office of this film testifies to the fact that it may have discovered this, notwithstanding the vocal enthusiasm of many of those posting here.

The concept was a good one, but my feeling was that the film was neither wholly successful, nor wholly unsuccessful. I laughed at times - quite a lot, in places - and I felt for the central character, stuck in a dilemma of which she was largely unaware. But the comedy element - undoubtedly the more successful of the two parts - never worked properly, due to the harshness of the crime subplot.

Morgan Freeman, as usual, brought a huge chunk of gravitas to the proceedings, yet I found his character utterly unbelievable - an experienced hit-man who, on the eve of retirement, falls for his target, and who is given to uttering large chunks of compassionate philosophy? Sorry, but I don't think so. I found Chris Rock's character much more convincing, but so vile that I was unable to sympathise or identify with him. Was I meant to? When he was killed, it was such a relief that I expected Freeman's "nice hit-man" to say "Good!"

Greg Kinnear played convincingly in a fairly thankless part, but this was always Renee Zellweger's film. Both she and Kinnear played the situation absolutely straight, and the humour arose from the situation rather than the quirks of the character. And the film is worth seeing for the scene where Betty's mental block is shattered, and she is suddenly made to realise that something very wrong is happening. The craft in this piece of acting shows that she is well worthy of her Oscar.

Neil LaBute the Wrong Choice for a Film Like This

[evanston_dad · 5/10 · 23 July 2010]

Neil LaBute's uneasy blend of thriller and dark comedy is a queasy affair.

LaBute doesn't have a light touch at all, which more than anything is what a film like this desperately needs. He begins the movie with a scene of intensely graphic violence, and it's hard to recover from it. You can't sit back and enjoy the film's comedic elements when you're not sure when or if something horrible is going to happen again.

Renee Zellweger does her best, but she's in the hands of a director who's out of his element.

Grade: C

A Splendid Little Black Comedy.

[Chrysanthepop · 22 February 2008]

LaBute's 'Nurse Betty' tells the story of a young housewife (and part-time waitress) in search of the man of her dreams. Sounds like another fluffy romance, no? Not quite! Her adulterous trash of a husband is scalped. Two hit men, a father who's about to retire and his son, are after her (the father happens to be in love with her). The man of her dreams is a character from a soap opera...she travels half the country just to be with him. Little does she know that it's only an illusion. Yes, it is a bizarre little comedy but fun nonetheless. Zellweger proves to be the perfect choice to play Betty. She delivers a very nuanced, comic and moving performance. Has Morgan Freeman ever gone wrong? He's just laugh out loud hilarious. Chris Rock too takes a chance playing the villain and does a fine job. Greg Kinnear and the supporting cast that includes Tia Texado, Allison Janney, Aaron Eckhart, Kathleen Wilhoite and Crispin Glover are all good. the soundtrack is beautiful and very romantic. It just adds to the surreal mood of the film. A lot of the film takes place on the road giving us glimpses of the beautiful American landscape and an adventurous feel. Towards the end, there's a beautiful scene between Morgan Freeman and Renee Zellweger (well I can't say what it's about without giving spoilers) which is the real turning point in Betty's life and the way that scene was presented amidst the chaos in the next room is amazing. 'Nurse Betty' is a sweet film that dares to go against the usual standards of American comedy. There are some very graphic scenes of violence and there's the element of suspense as the father and son track down Betty. Yet, it manages to stand as an adventurous comedy that is uplifting and brings a smile.

Decent Dark Humor, But No 'Fargo'

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 2 July 2006]

This is a strange film but that's somewhat normal when the category is "dark comedy," a la Fargo and numerous others of this genre. You wind up getting a rough film but one with a lot of laughs. This isn't Fargo, but it reminded a bit of it with the two hit men and a likable female lead. Unlike Frances McDormand's role as the cop in Fargo, here we have a ditsy but ultra-sweet girl played by Rene Zellweger. The hit men are played by Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock: an odd duo.

Freeman, in a role uncharacteristic of him, plays a profane hit man who is at the end of his career and mellowing. His is really a strange role, a real contradiction at times. Rock is his normal ultra-profane wise-cracking younger guy as Zellweger's character suffers some setbacks.

For a comedy, this movie had a shocking amount of f-words and assorted other profanity including a lot of Lord's name in vain material. A lot of it wasn't necessary, either. Some of the stuff in here is not all black humor; some of it's uncomfortable to watch.

However, if you can get past (or have a profanity filter) the language, this movie is entertaining because of its mixture of comedy, romance and suspense. There are nice colors in here, too. As I said: a strange film.

one movie, several different worlds

[lee_eisenberg · 6/10 · 11 May 2006]

"Nurse Betty" is a little hard to classify. Telling the story of mentally unstable waitress Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger), who leaves her Midwestern town for LA, hoping to meet a soap opera character (Greg Kinnear, and I do mean that she wants to meet the character, not the actor), the movie seems to be several different types of movies all in one. While Betty is mousy and resigned, there's also two men chasing her: hard-ass Charlie (Morgan Freeman) and goofy Wesley (Chris Rock). Naturally, there's the obvious fact that these two aren't exactly compatible, but that might bring up the question of how much that relates to the actual plot line.

The truth is, I don't know whether or not they were trying to make any kind of point with this movie. Maybe it was about the trouble that some people have distinguishing reality from fiction, or perhaps they just made it for fun. I'm not sure. But I thought that it was worth seeing. I have to admit that I haven't seen any of Neil LaBute's other movies. Fairly interesting. Also starring Aaron Eckhart, Crispin Glover and Allison Janney.

Another crime-comedy from early 2000s

[SkullScreamerReturns · 6/10 · 13 November 2021]

In the turning of 2000 there was this minor trend of "crime comedy". Movies that mixed crime thriller with humor. My guess is that it started with Pulp Fiction, and then there was stuff like Get Shorty and Big Lebowski for example. Nurse Betty goes somewhere in this pile.

The movie seems like a cute drama-comedy but it also has some violence which makes the movie seem a bit odd. What is it trying to be? To whom is it intended for?

But the main violent scene also has a purpose I guess. It signals the moment when the main character gets traumatised and becomes crazy, which is essentioal for the plot. I just thought it was a bit too graphic for a movie that is otherwise quite soft.

The plot is actually quite funny. Betty (Zellweger) believes her favorite TV series is real and she starts chasing the lead actor whom she believes is the character in the show. This is a funny idea.

As a whole the movie is perhaps not as good as the concept but still quite entertaining. Zellweger plays her trademark style of cute/funny/awkward character, and then there's Morgan Freeman as the gangster. His buddy is played by Chris Rock whom I didn't like, he seems like amateur actor next to the ever-charismatic Freeman.

Overall, it's an ok movie. But don't mistake it for a harmless family flick because it's a little bit more edgy despite the cover that looks like Bridget Jones.

Ruined By Chris Rock

[70mm MAN · 3/10 · 4 April 2001]

I love Renee, Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinear. But I really hope they make wiser decisions in participating in a movie with vile creatures like Chris Rock. I have nothing against black comedians you use language and demeaning, degrading remarks as there only way to get a laugh. But Chris Rock has ruined many potentially good movies because he is just an obnoxious punk. Richard Pryor was great, as was Red Fox or Eddie Murphy and so many others. But whoever decided that Chris Rock is funny must be ill. He can't play a part without useing severely foul and offensive language. I am no angel and swear myself, but I have enough respect for others not to degrade people for laughs by calling them names likes cu*ts, etc. etc. And I am speaking out to tell "Hollywood" there are hundreds of really funny comedians that don't need obscenity to get us to laugh! I hope others users speak out and follow my sentiments. This movie is ok but ruined by Chris Rock. I'd give it a zero if it was an option.

Great casting, acting, and original screenplay

[fleagles · 8/10 · 27 September 2000]

Neil LaBute takes a dramatic turn from his first two films, In The Company of Men & Your Friends and Neighbors, with this funny and original thriller/comedy/road movie. When Betty (Renee Zellwegger) witnesses the brutal murder of her no-good husband (Aaron Eckhart), she develops a bizarre sort of amnesia, and flees in his car, not knowing that there is large stash of drugs in the trunk. Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock are the hit men who follow her.

What Betty is chasing, besides a new beginning (although she can't remember the old life) is her beloved, Dr. David Ravell (Greg Kinnear). Only problem: Dr. David isn't real, he's a soap opera character on the show `A Reason To Love' and he's really an egotistical actor named George McCord.

To say any more regarding what develops would be too much, but Nurse Betty is certainly original. Its hit men are, like the hired killers of Pulp Fiction, are violent yet philosophical, its take on soap operas terrific spoof material, and its acting is the best feature of all. This has to be one of the best cast films in recent years. Renee Zellwegger is perfect for Nurse Betty, with the constant gleam in her eye that pushes her in her quest. Morgan Freeman brings his constant state of grace to the role of a killer at the end of his career, and Chris Rock is his partner, a man of rage and great impatience. Greg Kinnear is at his comic best as the vain actor/soap opera doctor. There are also great supporting performances from actors such as Emmy-winner Allison Janney (The West Wing), Harriet Sansom Harris (Frasier's agent Bebe Glazer), and Kathleen Wilhoite (Chloe on ER). Actually, the supporting cast is a Who's Who of television best character actors.

A unique film that is funny one moment and chilling the next, Nurse Betty is a mix of great acting, casting, and a terrific screenplay.

Great story line; but lots of unnecessary violence

[jpizzo · 6/10 · 7 March 2001]

Nurse Betty has a great plot and is well acted. However, the disgusting, gratuitous violence detracted from the picture terribly. A more talented writer and director could have made this same movie with a PG-13 rating and it would have been a better movie. Showing the scalping of a live person added nothing to plot or value of the movie.

Bad Medicine, Good Bedside Manner

[JOE-166 · 1/10 · 25 September 2000]

Renee Zellweger is radiant, but the rest of this movie just does not work. It's like a hamburger-jello-mold salad--interesting idea, but who ever thought it would actually work on film? I like director LaBute's two previous films--they were mercilessly honest and chillingly funny. This film manages only to be merciless and chilling--with jumbo dollops of the cutes. (As high concept, think: the Doris Day-Rock Hudson movie Sam Peckinpah might have made--now reduce your expectations to match the present, mass-produced state of Hollywood.) That actors as talented as Freeman, Kinnear, Eckhart, Vince, and Janney ALMOST make their scenes come alive is a testament to the immensity of their talents to rise above material that just does not cohere. I would have found Freeman's corny, feel-good-about-yourself speech at the end of the movie funny (in a Lynchean way) if it weren't for the nagging suspicion that this unconvincingly tacked-on moral is meant to be accepted seriously.

An original and fun story

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 9/10 · 21 November 2005]

I'm not sure why I picked for a borrow from mom for "Nurse Betty". I think just because I had heard a little bit of this movie. But I'm glad I did. "Nurse Betty" is an original and clever movie that has humor and a darker side.

This was one of Renee's first big one's before hitting it major in Hollywood. I can see why, she is an incredible actress. The scene where she finally realizes what had happened and she's on the set of her favorite soap opera, you can see pain, confusion, fear, and embarrassment on her face. Just to let you in on the movie, she plays Betty. A shy and insecure woman who stands by her abusive husband, she's a waitress, and is in love with soap operas, especially one where a certain cute doctor, Dr. Dave Revell. When she happens to see her husband's murder accidentally in separate room, the murders she notices are two customers she just had, Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock. She then just looses her mind and leaves town after talking to he police and says she needs to find her former fiancée, Dr. Dave Revell. So, she travels along the country to California to find Dr. Revell, and wants a job as a nurse to work with Dave, she's seen the show so many times, somehow she's just awesome at being a nurse when she saves a woman's brother. Despite everyone telling her that she is delusional, she just looks at them like as if they were the crazy one's. When she meets the actor who plays Dave Revell, George(his real name) thinks she's just a crazy fan trying to get on the show. She just looks at him with confusion and believes that he and her belong together.

Renee was terrific, she was so believable on loosing her mind in the movie. She has come such a long way, and wither you want to admit it or not, she's adorable and a great actress.

Morgan Freeman plays one of the assassin's, Charlie, who is the father of the two. He is so charmed and smittened by Betty and while chasing her around the country, he becomes almost just infatuated with Betty to the point where he almost falls in love with her. He and his son Wesley must find Betty when they find out she was there at the murder scene and could give away their identities. When Charlie sees Betty and catches her finally, she's scarred at first, but calms down and they know they have a real connection. It was a beautifully played scene, my opinion is that Morgan gave a stronger performance. He's just great.

A surprisingly decent performance by Chris Rock, the son, Wesley. He is so "gun"-ho about just getting the job done in a rush and taking care of business. I loved his comedic performance at the end where he and the gang he's holding hostage by gun point are just watching the soap opera's together. Classic. "Nurse Betty" is a great movie that I'd recommend for a good laugh and just in all a nice honest little movie I think anyone could enjoy.

9/10

Beware 1 violent murder scene

[ianb59 · 7/10 · 18 July 2008]

...not in keeping with the otherwise excellent comedic genre of the movie. Amazing how our perceptions of the later work of actors such as Freeman, Zellwegger, Kinnear leave us disconcerted by this mature, edgy indie.

True, Zellwegger is cute, Kinnear gorgeous and Freeman (initially) avuncular (when will that Mandela biopic script be ready?), but this piece probes the seedy, exploitative, delusional side of human nature with wincing accuity, whilst staying (net) on the right side of feelgood.

Just to be clear: DON'T treat this as a cosy family romcom. Someone will be traumatised and that will spoil an otherwise enriching view.

A near hit or a near miss?

[ytbufflo-1 · 5/10 · 26 January 2006]

Hard to categorize this movie, but many things come to mind. My boyfriend described it as Blue Velvet filmed by the Farrelly brothers and I think that is an excellent description. My problem with this film is that it sets up its premise so exquisitely in the beginning - Renee Zellweger trapped in a waitressing job that she can actually do in her sleep, who watches her favorite soap so zealously that she can pour coffee while staring at the screen.

As we follow her around in a day we begin to realize how desperately she is trying to keep going by losing herself in a false positivity sustained by soap opera platitudes, but that these are becoming increasingly more difficult to apply to her sad life and bad marriage. As she soldiers on through the day, more and more things unravel around her, so that by the time she witnesses the brutal murder of her husband, she is completely consumed by her imaginary world.

Up to this point, Zellweger balances the tension of her delusional positivity with a buried sadness that is so delicate, when it comes out every once in a while, it is heartbreaking to see. Then LaBute just abandons ship with her and launches into a road trip movie that loses all dramatic tension by creating extremely cartoonish interactions and characterizations that do not come into balance again until Bette meets up with her soap opera star at a charity event.

The scene where Bette introduces herself to the writer and some of the cast of the soap opera "A Reason to Love" is one of the best balancing acts of conflicting views of reality I have ever seen on screen. But once again LaBute abandons Bette to one-dimensionality so he can rush over to the Grand Canyon for yet another badly written scene where Morgan Freeman is trying to have a conscience and Chris Rock is just trying to get the job done.

The point at which I got anything out of their interaction with each other was the point at which Chris Rock decided to stop "acting" and just start doing his foul-mouthed comedy routine. Finally there seemed to be some spark and life to their relationship, and the road trip aspect started to pick up for me.

I feel like Mr. LaBute is very good at theatrical manipulation of audience expectation, but not so adept at filmic flow and continuity. I am glad he exists, and the film was very interesting and very watchable, but I think he still has a lot to learn about how to create and sustain a convincing oddball reality throughout the duration of a feature length film.

You can't have intermissions in a modern movie theatre, but I felt as if there were intermissions in this film, that plot lines would ebb and flow like tides until each character was plucked out of the group and given meaning. Perhaps this would have been best done as a play first, and then the ensemble cast rounded up to do the film. I was underwhelmed by the artistry but entertained by the quirky story, so I think I will just leave it up to other viewers to determine - is the film half-empty, or half-full?