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A
TREASURE ...
Written
by Dean
Kish
Cast::
Renee Zellweger, Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Chris
Rock, Aaron Eckhart
 Premise:
Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger), a waitress in
a small Kansas town who lives vicariously through her
favorite soap opera stars, fantasizes about a perfect
life like that of the doctors and nurses on the tv show,
"A Reason to Love." When her husband, Del (Aaron Eckhart),
brings an illegal business deal into their home, Betty
escapes into her fantasy and takes on the imagined persona,
Nurse Betty, in order to block out her husband's criminal
activity.
Overall
Rating:
 (out
of 4)
Rated
R for strong violence, pervasive language and a scene
of sexuality
Do
you remember those movies that have a real quirky title
but often end up being something strange, unusual, entertaining
and original? I often find treasures like this when I
look real hard in a video store but rarely in a theatre.
Hollywood often neglects and buries little gold mines
like these because they don’t have faith in the title
or something really went wrong with the production. All
of these statements are true with “Nurse Betty”.
“Nurse
Betty” tells the story of a waitress named Betty
(Renee Zellweger) who is obsessed with a daily soap
opera “A Reason to Love”. On that soap is
Dr. David Ravell (Greg Kinnear) who is the object of
Betty’s undying love. The world surrounding Betty
is so very close to crashing in around her that it’s
the soap that sustains her will to live.
One night Betty is watching a recording of the “A
Reason to Love” and she hears her “dream man”
utter these very words, “I know there’s someone
special out there for me.” Betty is bowled over
are she honestly believes David is speaking to her.
It’s at that moment that her husband, Del (Aaron
Eckhart), returns from entertaining some clients. As
the show continues, Betty hears some screaming coming
from the kitchen. Perturbed she turns up the TV and
ignores it but out of curiosity she peaks into the kitchen.
There she witnesses two hitmen (Chris Rock and Morgan
Freeman) executing her husband. Within Betty’s
mind something clicks and she doesn’t even remember
the execution. All she can remember are those beautiful
words her beloved doctor said to her. This convinces
her to leave her hometown and travel to Hollywood to
find her soulmate, Dr. David Ravell. Will Betty ever
face the hitmen again and find out exactly what Del
was into? Is her fantasy really going to become a reality?
“Betty”
is a brilliant little script that is fresh, funny, and
so original. It truly is amazing when something like
this film catches you off guard. I hope there is some
sort of nomination for this film’s writer because
it’s been a while since I have seen something like
this.
“Betty”
is directed by Neil LaBute who directed two other films
that were rather dark and heartless but touched on a
lot of issues we relate to everyday. Those films were
“In the Company of Men” and “Your Friends
and Neighbors” which both starred Aaron Eckhart.
Eckhart plays a jerk in Betty much like he did in his
other collaborations with LaBute. Eckhart is amazing
in how he buries deep under our skins and plays with
us from inside. We really honestly hate this guy and
it’s in that portrayal that has helped LaBute’s
trio of films.
Aside from Eckhart’s third jerk persona, “Betty”
offers up wonderful performances from its leads. Kinnear
is once more showing how much he wants to be noticed
actor in Hollywood. His character is bland, typical
and self-involved but there is an element of freshness
presented here. Zellweger, “Betty’s”
main focus and star shows amazing resilience as she
plays the innocent woman on the verge to perfection.
I liked how she shrugged off the impending doom and
stuck to her fantasy no matter what is presented in
her lap. Zellweger hasn’t been this good since
“Jerry Maguire”.
In the film’s subplot involving the two hitmen,
I thought Freeman and Rock were a little bland compared
to the main plot. I liked their performances but I kind
of wished the script would have made them more fresh,
different and original. Playing a typical squabbling
hitman must not have been fun for an amazing actor like
Freeman. The hitman flaw in the film becomes relevant
in the film’s fourth quarter when all elements
of the film finally come together. When you see the
film you will know what I mean. It really is a shame.
Putting that aside, “Betty” is still one of
the most original scripts I have seen in a long time.
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