Nurse Betty (2000)

Director:

Neil LaBute

Writers (WGA):

John C. Richards (story)
John C. Richards (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 September 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

She's chasing a dream... they're chasing her.

Plot:

Comedy about a widow's post-traumatic obsession with a soap star.

Plot Keywords:

Soap | Soap Opera | Drug | Nurse | Waitress

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Morgan Freeman	...	Charlie
Renée Zellweger	...	Betty Sizemore
Chris Rock	...	Wesley
Greg Kinnear	...	Dr. David Ravell
Aaron Eckhart	...	Del Sizemore
Tia Texada	...	Rosa Hernandez
Crispin Glover	...	Roy Ostery
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Ballard
Allison Janney	...	Lyla Branch
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Sue Ann Rogers
Elizabeth Mitchell	...	Chloe Jensen
Susan Barnes	...	Darlene
Harriet Sansom Harris	...	Ellen
Sung Hi Lee	...	Jasmine
Laird Macintosh	...	Dr. Lonnie Walsh

Also Known As:

Nurse Betty - Gefährliche Träume (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language and a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (original rating) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Canada:14A | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Durango, Colorado, USA

Company:

Gramercy Pictures (I)

Trivia:

Scenes involving Christopher McDonald as a racist, red-neck truck driver who sells porno to Chris Rock and Morgan Freeman were cut from the final film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where George visits Tia and Betty's apartment, Tia answers the door. In an effort to calm her, George gives her the bouquet of flowers meant for Betty. Tia throws the flowers on the floor. But when Betty walks in we cut back to Tia and she's holding the bouquet.

Quotes:

Betty Sizemore: Gosh! I haven't been this happy since I was 12.
George McCord: Okay, I'll bite. What happened when you were 12?
Betty Sizemore: I took my mom to Kansas City for Mothers' Day and I used the allowance I was saving. We went to lunch at Skies, this restaurant at the top of a building, and you can see the whole world from up there. It was our last special thing 'cause she died that year. It was a great day.
George McCord: You just gave me goose bumps from that. You know that? That is just great improv!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Renée Zellweger/Eve (#26.17)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Double Cross

For The Adventurous Only

People keep asking "is this a romantic comedy?", "a black comedy?", "a violent thriller?". If you're the kind of person who is not comfortable with a film unless you can safely store it into one of five or six comfy little categories, move on (or as Jack Black says, "go to the mall!"). To quote Roger Ebert, "audiences lobotomized by one-level stories may find this confusing". It's really a sweet little comedy that breaks a number of 'sweet little comedy' rules, by introducing real terror and a few (count 'em - 3) scenes with a bit of gore. Like Jonathan Demme's minor masterpiece, SOMETHING WILD, we are taken out of a safe little world (Kansas, literally) to another dimension. This dimension is part Oz and part grit. Oz is the fantasy life of the main characters (for Zellweger it's Kinnear, the fictional doctor on a soap opera, and for Freeman it's Zellweger, who he sees as a sort of modern Doris Day). Intertwined with the fantasy is the frighteningly realistic fact that Freeman and his son Wesley, are hit men. What hit men do ain't pretty. I'm personally relieved that this is not a cute comedy with 'widdle cuddwly' hit men who are really not so bad because after all, their violence is bloodless: we can overlook what they do. UH-UH! We are not left off the hook that easily! On the other hand, Morgan Freeman is an authentically charming guy, and in many ways, this film contains some of the most sparkling romance (real and/or imagined) that's been seen on the screen in a long time! This indeed is a film that breaks many conventions while celebrating others, but be forewarned, this is not a safe, cuddly film. You're not in Kansas anymore!