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Nurse Betty

Nurse Betty

List Price: $26.98
Your Price: $24.28
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: ....
Review: This is a good movie. The characters and the actors performances are the best thing about it. Morgan Freeman and Renee Zellweger were great as was basically everyone else. The plot of the movie was good, but some of the things got a little tired.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Three In The Head And You Know He's Dead
Review: Movie Summary: Betty is a waitress. Yes a waitress. Oh but she wants to be a nurse. She dreams of being a nurse in the world of her favorite soap opera "A Reason To Love". She is even in love with a character from the show named David Ravell. Apart from her dreams, her real life is not so great. Her husband is a cheating scum bag who leaves her alone on her birthday. When Betty witnesses a horrible crime, her shock transports her into the world of "A Reason To Love". She thinks she is Nurse Betty and sets off to find her long lost love Doctor David Ravell.

My Opinion: Nurse Betty was a lot different than I expected. In fact it was just plain different. I don't know if "Dark Comedy" correctly describes it, but it comes close. It has both comedic parts and violent serious parts. The violent scenes are quite serious but they are surrounded by lighter scenes. Betty's life is quite sad in the beginning of the film. She goes through a transformation that brings out her true self. This is a very intelligent and creative movie. Chris Rock is at his best in this one as is Renee Zellweger.

DVD Quality: Widescreen anamorphic 2.25:1, DD5.1. Good picture quality and sound. Two separate commentary tracks, deleted scenes, episodes of "A Reason to Love", and trailers. The extras on this DVD are really great.

What You Should Do: See it if you can handle off beat movies. It is a bit different from the mainstream romantic comedy so be prepared. If you are a film buff in general, and enjoy intelligent movies, then you are in for a treat.

Related DVDs To Check Out: O Brother Where Art Thou?

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A Diabolical Romp Through a Thoroughly Odd Story
Review: Every once in a while you wander through the isles of your local video store and pick a movie just because there are so many of them lining the walls that it "must be good." Such was the case with Nurse Betty. Upon watching the movie, I remain baffled at its success. I won't give the plot away, but Nurse Betty's ridiculous romp in search of her soap operah heart-throb was poorly constructed and tedious. Chris Rock is a foulmouth sidekick for Freeman (who pulls off the best performance of the movie but one of the worst in his career.) It however, not entirely without redemption, there are moments of comedy, and the occasional plot twist.

My advice; there is no reason to cross this movie off your "to see" list, but make sure that it is well down it!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Huh?
Review: I should have remembered it was possible for a movie to have a well written screenplay and an awfully silly, plodding plotline. The basic concept behind "Nurse Betty" sounds great on the back of a video box, or a 30 second pitch - the perfect *black comedy* setup, which pokes fun at both the hollywood ego AND the losers who stalk the egomaniacs, who is in turn stalked by a couple of interesting hit men - but when it's on screen, the plot goes "kablooe." The writing works, but it should have been a short story, and not a 90+ minute movie. I love black comedies, movies that "Nurse Betty" was striving to be - this is not that movie. Sorry.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Darker than I ever imagined
Review: I really liked this movie. It's like the LAST fifteen minutes are the best. It brings everything together. But the rest of the movie has to be watched to get there. Let me with a chill.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Quite A Disappointment
Review: When renting this movie I was expecting a fairly good movie based on the reviews it had received in the past.I was expecting Morgan Freeman to be the main actor with Chris Rock as his co-actor.Instead,I had the pleasure of watching Renee Zellweger chase her soap opera love for one hour and thirty minutes and tell everyone her hardly awe-inspiring story.This was truly a let-down movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Cute
Review: This is a cute movie,it's good to rent and watch for one time, but I don't think it's a collectors best choice.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Doesn't have the bite normally expected from a LaBute film
Review: After only two films, I had already considered Neil LaBute to be one of America's sharpest and most cynical social critics and satirists. However, this is his first film based on somebody else's script and even though the social critique and satire is still there, it is overly familiar and not as incisive as I would expect from a LaBute film. Perhaps I'm too tough on him. If this film had been directed by anyone else, I might very well be singing its praises. That's because the movie is actually very funny and involving, with a storyline that exists on several different levels. I guess I just expected more from LaBute. I think he can do so much more than recycle the accidental-celebrity-type story straight out from 'Being There'. I also think LaBute is more interesting when he is cynical and mean-spirited. The happy, morally-correct ending in which all the loose ends are tied up is something you would expect from a typical Hollywood shill, not a maverick such as LaBute. And is there really a need for another social critique on the deleterious effects of television on American life? The plot has more than its share of contrivances, but give LaBute credit for getting as much mileage from them as possible, although I still could have done without the Crispin Glover and Pruitt Taylor Vince characters. The strong performances from Zelweger, Kinnear and Freeman also go a long way in selling the implausible plot twists (perhaps my complaints about the unrealistic plot might seem irrational to some as the film can be seen as a fable, but I would argue that one cannot remain emotionally detached after witnessing a gruesome scalping). I should also mention that there are many wickedly funny scenes in the film, particularly those involving the delusional Betty and the equally delusional Dr. Ravell.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not perfect, but close
Review: A terrific movie. Nurse Betty manages to be, at times, both hystericly funny and extremely sweet. Its a complicated story, wonderfully written and acted--far better than 99% of current movies.

That said, the other reviewers are correct that the violent early scene was NOT necessary. Despite what the director says it just doesn't belong in a movie like this.

My main complaint is Chris Rock. As usual he is loud, childish and extremely un-funny. Talk about trying too hard! He's not quite as nauseating as Jim Carey but boy, he comes close. The sad part is that, not only is Rock's performance like a fart in church (ok, that would be funny) his character is unnecessary in this story, if you think about it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great acting, lots of insight, messy violence
Review: NURSE BETTY is a clever study of the human capacity to avoid reality by inventing alternative universes for the self. The film's focus is Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger), a small town waitress in Kansas who prefers the world of her favorite soap opera to that of her own as the chief doormat of a philandering husband. After witnessing his violent death at the hands of drug dealers, she is emotionally propelled headlong into her soap opera world, taking off across country unaware of the stash of drugs in her trunk. Her goal is to reach the "doctor" of the soap opera (Greg Kinnear) and her vision is strong enough to take her all the way to the actor's inner sanctum where her delusion fits neatly with his narcissistic notion that what he does is high concept art.

Meanwhile, hot on Betty's trail are her husband's killers (Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock), the elder fancying himself a statesman of intuiting, building up Betty as a worthy adversary, the other a rash kid with no sense of proportion. Betty does have friends who care about her and try to give her a clue but here the film makes another insightful observation: clues roll off most people. Some never do learn, some have to crash into reality before they finally get it. Betty finally gets it.

The film is filled with amazing performances. Every last one is laudable but Zellweger and Freeman are stand outs. The dialogue is well written and handled, especially by Freeman who is given some nice riffs. The visual references to the themes abound. There is a natural sunlit glow to the country roads Betty takes to LA ala the yellow brick road to Oz. Kinnear's actor proves to be as short as the Wizard, a fact referenced by the contrast with the height and command of Allison Janney as the soap opera's producer/writer. Less subtle are Betty's waitress and nurse uniforms that are unmistakably Dorothy.

Ultimately, there is an unevenness to the film. The violence is too jarringly realistic to fit comfortably with the comedy. It could use that FARGO touch. The allusions to THE WIZARD OF OZ are witty but intermittent. Those who want a film that gives them something to critique with pals but not in film class should enjoy this. Those who want a pleasant comedy will have that but will not be able to enjoy it thoroughly given the unsettling nature of the violence.


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