Nurse Betty (2000)
84%RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: 5 wins & 14 nominations
Quirky in the best sense of the word, Nurse Betty finds director Neil LaBute corralling a talented cast in service of a sharp, imaginative script
Nurse Betty is a quirky and entertaining film that will have you laughing and cringing at the same time. The cast, especially Renee Zellweger and Morgan Freeman, deliver great performances that keep the movie together. While the plot swerves from violence to whimsy to feminist fable, it still manages to come close to jelling. Overall, Nurse Betty is good for what ails you after a summer of cookie-cutter comedies and blowsy action flicks.
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros., Hawk Films, Peregrine
Distributor
USA Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
2nd Street Tunnel between Hill and Figueroa, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language and a scene of sexuality
Year of Release
2000
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 12.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 48m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 8, 2000 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2006
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Morgan Freeman, Renée Zellweger, Chris Rock, Greg Kinnear, Aaron Eckhart, Tia Texada, directed by Neil LaBute, written by John C Richards, James Flamberg, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by David Ansen, Nell Minow, Andrew Sarris, Emanuel Levy, Geoff Andrew, Philip Kemp, Bob Grimm, Joe Lozito, Frank Swietek, Ron Wells, Scott Nash, Jeffrey Overstreet, producer Steve Golin, Gail Mutrux, MPAA rating R, soap opera fan, small-town waitress, alternate reality, fugue state, love of your life, savage event, reality, fantasy, hitmen, stolen drugs, final job, psychotically broken
Worldwide gross: $29,364,989
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $50,931,100
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,318
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 5,554,100
US/Canada gross: $25,170,054
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $43,655,339
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,132
US/Canada opening weekend: $7,145,950
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $12,394,048
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 885
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $35,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $60,704,552
Production budget ranking: 668
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $32,689,401
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$42,462,853
ROI to date (est.): -45%
ROI ranking: 1,658
Renée Zellweger – Betty Sizemore
Chris Rock – Wesley
Greg Kinnear – Dr. David Ravell, George McCord
Aaron Eckhart – Del
Tia Texada – Rosa
Director(s)
Neil LaBute
Writer(s)
John C. Richards, James Flamberg
Producer(s)
Steve Golin, Gail Mutrux
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
5 wins & 14 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (130) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (108) | Rotten (22)
Swerving from viciousness to whimsy to dubious feminist fable, Nurse Betty doesn’t jell. Still, with a cast as charmed as this, it comes oh so close.
March 7, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
This comedy has a few violent scenes.
December 26, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
The actors hold the movie together, particularly Ms. Zellweger and Mr. Freeman, whose characters achieve a remarkable intimacy in a most unlikely situation.
April 27, 2007
Andrew Sarris
Observer
TOP CRITIC
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
July 23, 2006 | Rating: B+
Emanuel Levy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Almost every emotion and action on view is presented as false, idiotic or superficial.
January 26, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
While Nurse Betty proves that LaBute has more than one string to his bow, you can’t help thinking that he makes more memorable cinema when revelling in misanthropy.
December 3, 2002
Philip Kemp
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Good performances all around, especially from Zellweger and Kinnear. Lots of good laughs laced with nastiness.
August 7, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Bob Grimm
Sacramento News & Review
This is easily Ms. Zellweger’s finest work.
July 14, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
After a summer of cookie-cutter comedies and blowsy action flicks, Neil LaBute’s Nurse Betty is good for what ails you.
July 24, 2006 | Rating: A
Frank Swietek
One Guy’s Opinion
Despite cringing at many of Betty’s deluded interactions with the residents of her final destination and the director’s seeming lack of faith in the believability of many of the scenes, Nurse Betty still turns out to be entertaining.
December 6, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/5
Ron Wells
Film Threat
If I had to use just one word to describe Nurse Betty, that word would undoubtedly be…Quirky. And I mean that in a really, really good way.
September 30, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs
In the end [it] tells us we shouldn’t depend on each other… we should be glad that ‘we have ourselves.’ What a lonely and sad conclusion.
January 15, 2005 | Rating: B-
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer…
Plot
Kansas City waitress, Betty (Renée Zellweger), with dreams of becoming a nurse, becomes delusional after seeing her no-good car salesman husband murdered. Becoming delusional from shock, she becomes convinced that she is the former fiancée of her soap opera idol. What she also believes is that the soap opera is real and goes to Los Angeles, California to find the hospital where he works as a cardiologist. Meanwhile, her husband’s murderers are searching for the drugs stolen by her husband and, as luck would have it, they are stored in the trunk of the car in which she drove off. Charlie (Morgan Freeman), an aging hitman planning his retirement after this job, also becomes delusional about the woman he is tracking.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Chris Rock gives a “great surprise performance” in Nurse Betty, according to one audience review.
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