Crappy film

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Nurse Betty is one of the more unique movies that has ever existed, as it refuses to fit into any conventional genre or archetype. Part fantasy, black comedy, romance, the movie is about people who live in a fantasy world because the reality of life is too bleak and hard for them. In an early scene in the movie, Betty witnesses an intense traumatic experience in her small Kansas town, which causes her to go on the run to meet her fantasy man on her favorite television soap (Greg Kinnear) and the two hitmen follow her, one after the payload in her car and one after Betty herself. It sounds like a conventional movie plot, but it is suspended in disbelief just like the audience is suspending by watching a movie. Betty's best friend in the movie stats of her to the police that, "She just wanted something out of life.....anything". This is Renne Zellweger's breakout role, before she went on to do the Bridget Jones movies and the Oscar winning Chicago (2002). Her character of Betty is perfectly casted, as she has to act an act of a person so naïve and delusional she is completely unaware of the reality around her. When she is on the set of the soap opera, she constantly asks her co-stars "what they are doing" when they read cue cards and try to dress her in nurse uniforms. The two hitman (Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock) are a great match, on one level because of a hidden connection between them and level two lot because Rock plays the character as a rock hard stone cold killer, and Freeman has more of an experience and no-how to him that leaves him open to new things. In a world full of violence and evil natures, Freeman see's Betty as an innocent that must be put up upon a pedestal and cherished, while Rock just wants his payday. This might be both Chris Rock and Greg Kinnear's best performances, as Rock embodies a true psychopath that only shows humor in his obsession with tv soap opera's towards the end of the movie (spoilers, sorry it's still funny though!). His speech upon interviewing Betty's parents about how "God kills people so it must be natural" is bone chilling, reminiscent of the character of Pluto from Carl Franklin's underrated masterwork One False Move (1992). Kinnear plays a hilarious, over the top version of his actual personality in TV star David, and enjoys every minute of it. The movie is directed by Neil Lebute, master of movies that speak harsh truths about reality. The film has a lot of plot, so it never gets boring, along with a seamless pace that keeps throwing curveballs at the viewer. You think the movie is heading in a certain direction, and it quickly goes into another. People in the movie walk the fine line of feeling sorry for Betty's trauma, getting mad about her unwillingness to accept reality (her eventual roommate Rosa played by Tia Texada), and seeing a lost soul that they can shape to their selfish desires. Most people take advantage of Betty's confused state to make their own desires come true, the movie taking a pretty dark turn as David and the soap-opera producers invite Betty on the set and use her image and dedication of the show (deftly titled "A Reason to Love") as a breath of fresh air for their show (and we all know David has other things on his mind as well). The cinematography is by Jean Yves Escoffier, who brings a gritty quality to such a mainstream feature, the same on he used on Gummo (1997) and his music video for Johnny Cash's "Hurt". In a lot of ways, Nurse Betty has mainstream movie stars and production values with an Indie movie flair and idealism. Labute walks a fine line in this movie of his usual contempt for human nature and his comedic charm, for the former see his directorial debut, the uncompromising 1997 film In the Company of Men and his Samuel Jackson corrupt cop thriller Lakeview Terrace (2008). He also has a light-hearted side though, epitomized by the great scene where the two hitman go to the grand canyon, and Rock watches in disbelief as Freeman dances with an apparition he thinks his real. These kind of comedic charms and whimsical dialogue are later seen in his classic black comedy remake, Death at a Funeral (2010). The screenplay was not written by LeBute this time around, but by two authors: John Richards and James Flamberg. Flamburg is mainly known for musical scores on films, while John C. Richards has only two other credits to his same, the light hearted big budget flop Sahara (2005) and the newer HBO series Paterno (2018) starring Al Pacino. John C. Richards has a knack for tackling controversial topics with a lighthearted attitude. Upon scalping Betty's husband (played by a rednecked-out Aaron Eckhart) and first chasing Betty from Kansas to Los Angeles, Freeman's charter remarks: "I think most women would have screamed when they saw that, don't you?", which is a good example of dialogue that is humorous and horrifying at the same time. In all, Nurse Betty is movie about how we all have expectations of how other people should act. When betty got married, she imagined her husband would be a perfect man, but he constantly cheats on her and makes drug deals. She later holds up David as the perfect man he plays on tv, but he turns out to be a pretentious asshole. Freeman expects Betty to be the answer to all of his problems, but has to come to accept that she is just a confused witness to a crime she had nothing to do with. Just like in reality, it is human nature to expect the best out of other people, only as we get older do we discover that "best" is a relative term. One of Betty's friends in the movie states: "I went to Rome once, and no one can ever take that away from me." Funny how people think experiences like traveling and divorces/relationships make life matter. What this movie wants to ask us is what actually does make life matter, is it how many countries you have travelled to? Is it how many relationships you have had, and how long they lasted? What is the difference between being ignorant of something and being stupid? I guess in the end, we create our own reality, and we are exactly how happy as we let ourselves be.

This movie is a roller coaster of a good time. The characters jump out at you in this unique awkward kind of way. Betty (Renee Zellweger) is sweet, abused and under-appreciated and she goes through what all undervalued people wish they could go through. She finds herself and the life she was meant to have through "tragedy and loss." The tragedy of witnessing a horrendous crime and the loss of her sense of serenity and calm.Morgan Freeman's character sympathizes with her in this way and is inadvertently drawn to Betty for it. The characters are made of the same lost and misused souls. The story line at first seems silly and just not thought out, but when the characters start to develop on their journeys you see the innocence and the loneliness that their lives are made up of. The two find themselves projecting the life they want into reality and when they are snapped out of it you feel a combination of relief and grief, and you hope that they are able to cope with the reality they are left with.That said, this movie is definitely not for everyone, but for those who appreciate and enjoy a comedy with deeper and more realistically sad under-tones this movie is worth a viewing. 7.2/10

This film ain't so good and I would have explained my reasons for stating that opinion in more detail, only I was two thirds into what was quite a substantial review when the words I had written disappeared from the page. So, understandably I can neither remember what I had written, nor care to remember as I am extremely annoyed and tired so instead I will just have to leave a brief summary as to why this film wasn't for me.The acting - great, I can't fault it, all the main actors/actresses do their job well.The dialogue - Again, no fault, it's well written.The story itself - self indulgent, whimsical, dull and most of all very unrealistic. Plus, it can't seem to decide whether or not it's a Comedy/Romance/Thriller or an amalgamation of all three - which if this is the case it simply doesn't work well as all three.The film - not thrilling (contrary to how the film was billed), unfunny and most of all statically directed. To conclude, this film is watchable, so don't be too put off and as I have mentioned there are some good points to take into consideration, but all in all I found it less than charming and boring.

There's some heavy-duty talent involved in this movie. Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock as a father-son hit team. Greg Kinnear as a soap opera star. Direction by Neil Labute. The brilliant script is by John C. Richards. Well, maybe not everyone if familiar with that guy. But his screenplay is what makes it all work.Renee Zwellweger is front and center. I'd love to say this was her breakout role, but she had been in "Jerry Maguire" four years earlier. Still, I think this movie proved she could carry a movie by herself without Tom Cruise co-starring. She does carry it.How do you classify this movie? Light-hearted romance. No. Black comedy? But it's sweet, kinda. Crime drama. Well, sorta. But really, none of the above. It's about a crazy lady who, without really realizing it, puts her faith in luck. And it pays off. Even if the main character is insanely deluded.Can this work? Zellweger sells it.