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Tuesday September 12, 2000

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'Nurse Betty' hampered by poor plot, acting

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By Oliver White

Arizona Daily Wildcat

Slew of big-name talent fails to save movie

At first glance, the movie poster for "Nurse Betty," which shows smiling sweetheart Renee Zellweger in 1950s nurse garb with two unthreatening men behind her, portrays a goofy, comedic and fun romp for the whole family - a "Bambi" in disguise.

"Nurse Betty," however, is about as far from a Disney production as a film can get. The audience becomes painfully aware of this when, within the first 15 minutes of the film, hit man Wesley (Chris Rock) scalps a mullet-headed, used-car salesman with what looks like a shank stolen from the set of HBO's prison drama "Oz." Scenes in "Braveheart" were not this disturbing.

The cast of characters, furthermore - with the exception of Betty Sizemore (Zellweger), a sweet housewife with the demeanor of Dorothy from the "Wizard of Oz"- uses more profanity than a belligerent Quentin Tarantino film roadie without Xanax.

Okay, so there is violence and profanity, not a big deal, but the film's outlandish plot is a stretch.

The excitement begins when Betty's husband, Del, a Wayne Gretzky-clone and used-car salesman, is murdered for stealing drugs. Betty, the only witness to the crime, then follows an escapist path by insanely traveling into the world of soap operas. She leaves her home in Kansas for Hollywood in search of "Dr." David Ravell (Greg Kinnear), an attractive soap opera cardiologist, in order to, one supposes, become his nurse.

As if it could not get any more bizarre, Wesley and Charlie (Morgan Freeman), the father/son hit man team responsible for Del's "haircut," follow Betty across the heartland, fearing that she will squeal.

Director Neil LaBute's reputation is soiled by "Nurse Betty"- an unimpressive venture in the wake of his equally dark, independent film classic and date-movie favorite, "Your Friends and Neighbors." Basically, LaBute forgot to make his movie interesting while scrambling to obtain a good cast and at the same time bask in the spotlight of media attention that his two-star film has received.

Furthermore, the performances, regardless of the caliber of the actors, cannot save the plot. Poor scripts and roles were given to otherwise accomplished talent. It is unlikely to witness Freeman giving a cruddy performance, or Rock failing to crack up an audience, but with "Nurse Betty," it happens.

Freeman's role as a hit man is impractical, and certainly not dynamic enough to further his great reputation as an actor. Rock may have saved part of the film with his natural comedic ability shining through in brief intervals, but he is too much of a fledgling actor to even change roles from a sarcastic comedian to a sarcastic knife-wielding hit man. Additionally, Zellweger's complete lack of talent crushes any of the film's redeeming qualities.

When credit is due, it is sure to be received - but "Nurse Betty" is not worthy of the praise that it has been awarded, and should be dropped in the same dark vault along with the "Three Ninjas" series, "Howard the Duck" and every Steve Guttenberg film.


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