Nurse Betty MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +3 Content: -4

Waitress Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger) has big dreams. Longing to be a nurse, she feels stifled by her sleazy car-salesman husband, Del (Aaron Eckhart). She fantasizes a better life by watching A Reason to Love, a medical soap opera. When two thugs arrive to consummate a drug deal with Del, he offends mannerly crook, Charlie (Morgan Freeman), and his cruel, temperamental sidekick, Wesley (Chris Rock). So, Wesley scalps and kills Del in a gruesome, gory scene. Traumatized by the crime, Betty starts believing her soap opera is reality and shes a real nurse who jilted real doctor, Dr. David Ravell (Greg Kinnear). She jumps in her car and drives to California to reunite with her soap opera lover, David, but believing Bettys car contains their drugs, the crooks are hot on her trail. When Betty meets Dr. Ravell at a party, the actor and his friends think shes auditioning to be on their soap opera. Betty finds some rough times but her adventures end on an upbeat. Audiences will love Bettys endearing, innocent charm and will find NURSE BETTY a humorous flight of soap opera fantasy.

While dutiful wife Betty dreams of her future, trashy Del is shown in an explicit sexual encounter with his secretary on the office couch, although no nudity is involved. Shortly thereafter, Del is gruesomely scalped and shot to death in the Sizemore living room while Betty sees the bloody ordeal with one eye while keeping the other on her soap opera. Amnesia and fright from the shock throw her mind into an alternate reality. Charlie provides a constant and comical reign on Wesleys volatile temper as they trail Betty across the country. Unfortunately, he cant reign in the torrent of crude and obscene comments. Gentlemanly thug Charlie finds increasing infatuation and charm in Bettys innocent and naive persona. However, foul-mouthed Wesley thinks shes just another criminal who stole their cocaine. The final shootout provides more gore but its not overtly gratuitous. Unfortunately, the thugs unrelenting stream of obscenities and other crude language, plus the bloody scalping, derail a clever, well-acted, and directed dark comedy.

Preview Reviewer: Ed Crumley
Distributor: USA Films, 9333 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210