Nurse Betty (2000)
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84% of critics liked it
(130 reviews) -
38% of users liked it
(34,792 ratings)
After two acclaimed independent films in which he took a troubling look at male/female relations, director Neil LaBute moves on to less controversial ground in this dark comedy. Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger) is a woman from Kansas City who waits tables at a diner and is married to an insensitive… More After two acclaimed independent films in which he took a troubling look at male/female relations, director Neil LaBute moves on to less controversial ground in this dark comedy. Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger) is a woman from Kansas City who waits tables at a diner and is married to an insensitive thug named Del (Aaron Eckhart). One of Betty's few pleasures in life is the soap opera A Reason to Love. Her favorite character is handsome Dr. David Ravell, played by George McCord (Greg Kinnear). One night, Del gets involved in a drug deal with a pair of gangsters, Charlie (Morgan Freeman) and his sidekick Wesley (Chris Rock). Del's thoughtless racial slurs lead to an arguement, and the short-tempered Wesley attacks him; Charlie is forced to kill Del, as Betty watches. Dazed and in shock, Betty hops into her car, deciding that the time is right for a date with destiny. Betty tracks down George McCord, and soon the soap's producer Lyla (Allison Janney) is considering Betty for a part on A Reason to Love, not realizing that Betty doesn't want to play Dr. Ravell's nurse and fiance, she wants to be her. Betty, meanwhile, has no idea that the drugs that Del was trying to sell are still in her car, and that Charlie and Wesley are hot on her trail, determined to get the dope and silence her once and for all. Nurse Betty also features Kathleen Wilhoite, Crispin Glover, and Pruitt Taylor Vince. The film was shown in competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the prize for Best Screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Neil LaBute
- Written By
- John Richards, James Flamberg
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
R,
- In Theaters
- Sep 8, 2000 Wide
- Studio
- USA Films
Critic Reviews
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Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
The actors hold the movie together, particularly Ms. Zellweger and Mr. Freeman, whose characters achieve a remarkable intimacy in a most unlikely situation.
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Emanuel Levy, Variety
In his third, most accomplished film, LaBute puts aside the inquiry of misogyny that dominated his previous work and immerses himself in a lighter romantic fable about the collision of fantasy and reality, with a terrific performance from Renee Zelwegger
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Almost every emotion and action on view is presented as false, idiotic or superficial.
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Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
LaBute didn't write Nurse Betty, but his fierce comic touch is, luckily, all over this movie.
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J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Whether or not Betty sustains her character, the movie fails to maintain its own. The scenario falls apart.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Renée Zellweger
as Betty Sizemore
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Morgan Freeman
as Charlie
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Chris Rock
as Wesley
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Harriet Sansom Harris
as Ellen
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Allison Janney
as Lyla
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Aaron Eckhart
as Del, Del Sizemore
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Greg Kinnear
as Dr. David Ravell/George McCord, George M...
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Crispin Glover
as Roy
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Tia Texada
as Rosa
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Pruitt Taylor Vince
as Ballard
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Kathleen Wilhoite
as Sue Ann
- Steve Franken
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Lesley Woods
as Grandmother Blaine
- Steven Gilborn
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Alfonso Freeman
as ER Doctor
