InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Paul J. Nemecek Nurse Betty is a film about a meek waitress and wife who is thrown into bizarre circumstances and responds in an equally bizarre fashion. Rene Zelwegger plays the waitress who is married to a domineering, boorish used-car salesman. Her husband is also up to his ears in illegal wheeling and dealing unbeknownst to his wife. Betty deals with the dreariness of her day-to-day life by losing herself in a soap opera, and by fantasizing about one of the characters in the soap (a debonair doctor played by Greg Kinnear). When something happens to her husband, Betty snaps and projects herself into her soap opera fantasy world. She leaves town and drives to Los Angeles looking for the object of her affections. The two criminals who had dealings with her husband pursue her to LA so that they can tidy up loose ends.In one sense, this film is a standard crime/suspense film. A deeper look reveals a slightly more complex story line about the increasingly thin line between fantasy and fiction on the one hand and the "real world." In this sense, Nurse Betty is a postmodern film with much in common with films like Fargo and Pulp Fiction. The rapid movement between tender moments, funny scenes, and gruesome scenes is standard fare in films with postmodern sensibilities, so much so that the device is already a bit of a cliché.Nurse Betty also has much in common with films like EDTV, the Truman Show, and Pleasantville. All of these films deal with the postmodern obsession with virtual reality and simulated reality. There are some interesting issues raised in the film and there are clever turns in the story line. The real strength of the film is the superior performance by Rene Zellwegger and the great supporting performance by Morgan Freeman as the hitman with a heart of gold.The greatest weakness of the film is also in the acting. Chris Rock plays Morgan Freeman's partner and basically plays the same obnoxious character that he played in Lethal Weapon 4--a film that has earned a special place on the list of films I despise. This film has some merit, and could generate some interesting conversations about our media-obsessed society and how it connects with what Thoreau referred to as our "lives of quiet desperation." While I like the basic theme and was impressed by some of the performances, I did not find it as interesting as Pleasantville or as engaging as The Truman Show. When you add the gruesome violence and other gratuitous insertions in Nurse Betty, most viewers would probably have a better time with the video version of one of the films mentioned above.

Galina Three is a charm, and it certainly was for Neil LaBute - his first three films (of In the Company of Men, Your Friends and Neighbors, and this one) were fresh, original, darkly funny, had personality and insightful, not clichéd look inside his characters' hidden desires and motivations. What he saw often was not pretty but always honest. Of three, Nurse Betty is the best - deliciously multi-layered, full of twists and turns, making fun of the TV obsessions and turning upside- down many genres. What is the film? A sort of a cinematic onion that reveals its layers one by one. It's a black comedy and a thriller, a road movie and a modern version of the girl Dorothy's adventures in the Wizard of Oz. It is very detailed clinical description of post- traumatic stress disorder and the parallel story of two dreamers who in the same fashion created in their imagination the ideal lovers that were so far removed from reality as Kansas from Oz. And the awakening was truly shocking. Renee Zellweger in a Golden Globe-winning performance has never been better, before or after Betty (Chicago came close). Morgan Freeman has never been as romantic and so much in love at the same time being a cold-blooded and meticulous hit-man. Greg Kinnear as a man from Betty's dreams, "so handsome that a bit more and it would be a crime" was perfectly cast and funny as the shallow TV star. The presence of Aaron Echhart and Crispin Glover did not hurt the film, either. But the real star is the script, so rich and unpredictable that it was pleasure following all its turns and twists. Underseen and underrated indie film that has only became better since I saw it first time soon after its release, it is a rare treat. This is a very funny and very dark film. It is dreamy, and it's one of the movies that make me happy just to know that it exists. Definitely recommended for repeat viewing. The ending is beauty itself. There is another "never" I have to add -Neil LeBute has never done anything as fresh and enjoyable since "Nurse Betty".

Amy Adler Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger) is a waitress in a small city in Kansas. Her ogre husband, Del (Aaron Eckhart), a car dealer, keeps her under his thumb at all times, to the point of relentless verbal abuse. Her only escape is the beloved soap opera, A Reason to Love, which features her idol, the saintly and handsome Dr. David (Greg Kinnear). Betty can even pour refills of coffee without taking her eyes from the television screen! Because of her admiration for the show, Betty secretly longs to become a nurse. On the day that her loathsome husband forgets her birthday and her close friend has to cancel plans to take Betty "out on the town" to celebrate, the young waitress returns home to cook dinner, as usual, and then watch her stash of videos from the daytime drama. But, two bad guys show up, Charlie (Morgan Freeman) and his son, Wesley (Chris Rock). It seems Del has dabbled in drugs and double-crossed his connections and now it is time to pay the piper. Unfortunately, Betty witnesses Del's horrific murder (and it is horrific, indeed) and, as a result, she loses her grip on reality. All of a sudden, Betty believes that she IS a nurse and she must travel to California to find Dr. David, so that she can rekindle a love relationship with him. She takes off. But, since she is a material witness in her husband's death and she may have a sack of drugs hidden in her car, too, Charlie and Wesley begin a hot pursuit of our dear Betty. Will they succeed in bumping her off, also? This is a clever film with great performances but it is very violent from time to time. Yes, it was necessary to provide a reason for Betty's dive off the deep end, but for those viewers who detest violence, keep your finger on the fast-forward button of your remote. Zellweger gives a wonderful performance as the kind-hearted Betty while Eckhart loses himself in a smaller role that spells repugnance in capital letters. Freeman, who has played both God and the president, surprises the audience with his role as an aging killer. As for Rock, his turn as an evil, foul-mouthed assassin is revolting, as it should be, I suppose. The scenery is quite nice, as Betty goes through every state from Kansas to California. Costumes, also, are fine and the production looks great. Writer-director Neil LaBute displays a remarkable creativity and pacing as he tells his twisted tale, with the story going out on a high note. In short, if you are a fan of the stars, clever film-making, or offbeat movies, you will admire Nurse Betty. Just be certain you can handle the rough scenes, as they are powerfully stomach-turning.

ianb59 ...not in keeping with the otherwise excellent comedic genre of the movie. Amazing how our perceptions of the later work of actors such as Freeman, Zellwegger, Kinnear leave us disconcerted by this mature, edgy indie.True, Zellwegger is cute, Kinnear gorgeous and Freeman (initially) avuncular (when will that Mandela biopic script be ready?), but this piece probes the seedy, exploitative, delusional side of human nature with wincing accuity, whilst staying (net) on the right side of feelgood.Just to be clear: DON'T treat this as a cosy family romcom. Someone will be traumatised and that will spoil an otherwise enriching view.