Nurse Betty

R

Released Sep 8, 2000

1 hr. 48 min.

Comedy

List

83%

131 Reviews

Tomatometer

45%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

What happens when a person decides that life is merely a state of mind? If you're Betty, a small-town waitress and soap opera fan from Fair Oaks, Kansas, you refuse to believe that you can't be with the love of your life just because he doesn't really exist. After all, life is no excuse for not living. Traumatized by a savage event, Betty enters into a fugue state that allows -- even encourages -- her to keep functioning... in a kind of alternate reality.

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Critics Consensus

Quirky in the best sense of the word, Nurse Betty finds director Neil LaBute corralling a talented cast in service of a sharp, imaginative script.

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Test T

I watched this on DVD recently and I found it very confusing. I really did not know whether I was watching actual events unfold in Betty's life, or if the story was playing out as her fantasy, to protect her from what happened to her husband. How could she have possibly remained undiscovered in the next room with the TV on and the door ajar when he was killed? It just doesn't make any sense, and that's just the beginning. By the end, I was completely lost. The film is well made, with lots of nice locations and interesting dialogue. Morgan Freeman performs extremely well, making the film watchable. Renee Zellweger also performs well, but as the centre of the confusion I found her more challenging to appreciate. I found the other characters peculiar and difficult to relate to, and I resented the use of foreign language and subtitles. In my opinion, the problem with this movie occurred when it was written. No amount of skill and talent can rectify a flawed concept. Unfortunately it's just pretty nonsense and I can't recommend it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

Full Review

Zazoo909 C

"Nurse Betty" feels like two horribly mismatched scripts stapled together by a drunk. First, the casting disaster: lovable, splindly teddy bear, voice-of-all wisdom, Morgan Freeman tries to play a cold-blooded Samuel L. Jackson a la "Pulp Fiction". Then, Chris Rock, playing his psychopath buddy, scalps a man alive, tearing off his hairy pate, screaming bloody murder!!...then they play it off for dark Tarantino chuckles? WTF? On top of this mess they've slapped a ditsy love story with Rene Zellweger at her ditsiest. To be fair, the central conceit - a PTSD-addled Ms. Z searching for love in a soap opera fantasy - this is brilliant, and as the pitiful Pollyanna, Rene's so amazing, we can't help falling for her and her impossible dream. Of course, with all that other blech glued on, it's hard to feel other than confused and betrayed, but you'll probably stick around just to see how this sunken ship tries to right itself.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This was a good movie 3.6

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/13/21

Full Review

uncle p

Story/Screenplay: (4/5) This is a dark comedy that can elicit a lot of smiles throughout, which in itself is good, but anything more than a smile will probably come from something done or said by the antagonists of this story. Offsetting the dark aspects of this comedy is the main storyline that follows our sweet, innocent, and delusional protagonist as she makes her way to Hollywood to meet her dream man, a character in her favorite soap opera. There's several storylines running in parallel here, but it somehow works. Entertaining. Duration/Tempo: (4.5/5) At 1 hour and 50 minutes, it's an average length movie that felt very short. Nice direction and editing. Cast & Crew: (4.5/5) Renee Zellweger's performance was critical to the success of this film, and in this, she was outstanding. Some of the best lines came from Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock. Many of these were comedic in nature, which they delivered to near perfection. Very solid cast overall. Summary: (4.5/5) The story was very good, the cast was excellent, and the film moved quickly. A strong thumbs up.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

steve d

Way too dark to be much of a comedy.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A charming dark comedy with an excellent cast. The film throws its characters into a collision chamber of coincidences to create a road-trip comedy of errors from the Midwest to LA. Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock together as villains is a unique combo and the two actors play well off of each other as an aging hitman hoping to retire and his impulsive son. Renee Zellweger definitely steals the show as the main protagonist. Her role as a naively romantic, soap-opera obsessed PTSD stricken waitress could be viewed as a comedic deconstruction or exploration of what it means to live authentically by pursuing one's dreams. She portrays the waitress with a refreshing innocence and levity making her character easy to empathize with and fun to watch. Sun-belt location shots, groovy early 2000's costumes (Aaron Eckhart as Del the used car salesman being my personal favorite) and lots of famous young faces give this movie a warm comfy feel. While the story doesn't stray far from the typical 'comedy of errors' blue-print, the use of the fictitious soap-opera is a clever plot device. The movie has its twists and turns, giving the viewer a rambling but non-exhaustive joyride in a Buick LeSabre.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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Neil LaBute

Director

Morgan Freeman

Charlie

Renée Zellweger

Betty Sizemore

Chris Rock

Wesley

Greg Kinnear

Dr. David Ravell

Aaron Eckhart

Del

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David Ansen

Newsweek

Swerving from viciousness to whimsy to dubious feminist fable, Nurse Betty doesn't jell. Still, with a cast as charmed as this, it comes oh so close.

Mar 7, 2018

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

This comedy has a few violent scenes.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 26, 2010

Full Review

Andrew Sarris

Observer

The actors hold the movie together, particularly Ms. Zellweger and Mr. Freeman, whose characters achieve a remarkable intimacy in a most unlikely situation.

Apr 27, 2007

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Without an ounce of cleverness or hipness, the film quietly speaks volumes about why we go to movies, and then proves it.

Rated: A

Sep 2, 2022

Full Review

Bob Grimm

Sacramento News & Review

Good performances all around, especially from Zellweger and Kinnear. Lots of good laughs laced with nastiness.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 7, 2008

Full Review

Joe Lozito

Big Picture Big Sound

This is easily Ms. Zellweger's finest work.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 14, 2007

Full Review

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Synopsis

What happens when a person decides that life is merely a state of mind? If you're Betty, a small-town waitress and soap opera fan from Fair Oaks, Kansas, you refuse to believe that you can't be with the love of your life just because he doesn't really exist. After all, life is no excuse for not living. Traumatized by a savage event, Betty enters into a fugue state that allows -- even encourages -- her to keep functioning... in a kind of alternate reality.

Director: Neil LaBute
Executive Producer: Moritz Borman, Stephen Pevner, Chris Sievernich, Philip Steuer
Screenwriter: John C. Richards, James Flamberg
Distributor: USA Films
Production Co: IMF, Abstrakt Film, Gramercy Pictures, ab'-strakt pictures, Propaganda Films, Pacifica Film
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 8, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 26, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $25.2M
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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