Posted: 09/15/2000

Nurse Betty

(2000)

by Wayne Case

A delightful blend of fantasy and reality, Wayne calls this one of the best films of the year.

Nurse Betty is one of the best films of 2000. Based on the trailer and the ads, I didn’t expect much. While I don’t like the marketing, I do realize that the producers and distributors had a very difficult task. This type of dark comedy doesn’t lend itself to abbreviations. Be warned that exit polls indicate that some viewers were not pleased with the film. That doesn’t surprise me. Rather than being a mass appeal film, it’s actually a “specialized” film. That’s because it is SPECIAL and very hard to categorize. Critics have been mixed, but Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times), Variety and Time Magazine (among others) have been enthusiastic. Opening weekend business (September 8, 2000) was just ok, but there’s a good chance that it won’t lose money since it was not too expensive to make.

Set in a small Kansas town, waitress and soap opera fanatic Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger) withdraws from her dull existence into a television fantasy world after witnessing her lowlife husband’s violent murder. She then heads for Hollywood to locate the General Hospital-type television doctor of her dreams. Two murderous hit men and the local sheriff follow in hot pursuit.

If there were an Oscar category for casting, Heidi Levitt and Monika Mikkelsen should receive no less than a nominated for this work. I can’t imagine anyone else playing most of these parts, and none of the cast is less than excellent. Further, casting talented Black actors in parts that weren’t written specifically for any particular race is unusual and commendable.

Renee Zellweger (The Whole Wide World, Jerry Maguire), Morgan Freeman (Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption), and Greg Kinnear (television’s Talk Soup, As Good As It Gets) are at the peak of their considerable abilities. These two gentlemen have already been nominated for acting Oscars, and all three will be in the running for this year’s awards. Comic Chris Rock (television’s Saturday Night Live, Dogma) as Morgan Freeman’s apprentice hitman, was much lessobnoxious than usual and exhibits more of a range than I expected. Allison Janney (television’s The West Wing, Drop Dead Gorgeous) and Aaron Eckhart (In The Company Of Men, Erin Brockovich) absolutely nail their small parts.

Nurse Betty is the third film from director Neil LaBute. Until now I was anything but a fan. There are few films that I hate as much as his 1997 debut, In The Company Of Men. While I find his second film, Your Friends And Neighbors, less objectionable, it was still way too dark and hateful for me, even though it does contain a brilliant and unsettling turn from actor Jason Patric.

For this film, director LaBute leaves the writing to talented co-scripters John C. Richards and James Flamberg. Surprisingly, neither has previous screenwriting credits, but both are likely to be heard from again and soon, particularly since Nurse Betty won them best script honors at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. British composer Rolfe Kent did the musical score and parts are quite beautiful. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be available for purchase. The excellent cinematography is by Jean-Yves Escoffier (Good Will Hunting). All other technical credits are equally fine.

While firmly rooted in reality, Nurse Betty is actually a fairytale. It has a sweetness that is rare, but it is also edgy. Maintaining this delicate balance couldn’t have been easy. The scene where Betty meets Doctor Ravel/actor George at a charity benefit shortly after she arrives in Hollywood is masterful and well worth the price of admission. She speaks to the actor as if he is actually his television character, and he believes she is a method actress auditioning for a part on his soap opera. Hilarious!

Nurse Betty is irresistible.

Wayne Case works in the film industry in Hollywood.

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