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Nurse Betty is one of the most offensive, meaninglessly nasty on a low and unimaginative and smug level films I've ever seen. It has a 'funny'/'deserved' scalping. A fair amount of gratuitously dragged in, 'audacious' loathsomeness. And I'm certainly not someone who rejects nastiness across the board, or violence used in a comedic way either, or misanthropy, LOL. Just about my perfect image of a 'satirist' who is themselves basically a worthless symptom of their time. I was glad he subsequently disappeared.

I don’t remember details too well because it was a long time ago now, but I believe NURSE BETTY was the last time I ever walked out of a movie.

I feel strangely obligated to see this film now...

Brian C wrote:I don’t remember details too well because it was a long time ago now, but I believe NURSE BETTY was the last time I ever walked out of a movie.

I saw it on video a looooong time ago, at my parents' house with my mom, LOL, and my brother. We actually watched the whole thing for some reason, and needless to say we all hated it! We still mention it from time to time as an example of the most distasteful films we've seen.

Randall Maysin wrote:Nurse Betty is one of the most offensive, meaninglessly nasty on a low and unimaginative and smug level films I've ever seen. It has a 'funny'/'deserved' scalping. A fair amount of gratuitously dragged in, 'audacious' loathsomeness. And I'm certainly not someone who rejects nastiness across the board, or violence used in a comedic way either, or misanthropy, LOL. Just about my perfect image of a 'satirist' who is themselves basically a worthless symptom of their time. I was glad he subsequently disappeared.

When I saw this in the theater there was a group of women sitting in front of me. When the scalping scene happened one of them said What the fuck Carol, I thought this was supposed to be a romantic comedy. So I kinda enjoyed it more after that.

I managed to see it in theaters as a little kid (my mother had no sense of censorship) and probably because of that I remember it somewhat fondly though at the time I felt it was only okay which my adult LaBute experiences suggest is probably right.

So I, uh, really like Nurse Betty, which I think is the first LaBute film that he didn't actually write. Admittedly I first saw it as a teenager but it held up for me as a cynical, weird black comedy when I watched it again several years ago. If nothing else it's worth a look for providing the then-rare opportunity for Chris Rock to really act. I do concede that the scalping is totally unnecessary though.

I like Nurse Betty too. There are several of us!

dustybooks wrote:So I, uh, really like Nurse Betty, which I think is the first LaBute film that he didn't actually write. Admittedly I first saw it as a teenager but it held up for me as a cynical, weird black comedy when I watched it again several years ago. If nothing else it's worth a look for providing the then-rare opportunity for Chris Rock to really act. I do concede that the scalping is totally unnecessary though.

Didn't the story call for something sufficiently traumatic to throw Betty into a fugue state?

Yes.

I barely remember Nurse Betty, I saw it at home and it didn’t make much of an impression on me. I loathed Your Friends and Neighbors. It’s one of those films I went to see at the cinema where I would have left, had I not gone with a friend.

domino harvey wrote:I like Nurse Betty too. There are several of us!

There are dozens of us! Dozens!

This movie actually came up at work a couple weeks ago, though I don't recall how it came about. Oddly the coworker liked it, which threw me. I said I likerd it to an extent but it was one of those that I still would never recommend to anyone.

I saw it in the theater having liked Labute’s first two. For whatever reason, I haven’t seen anything by him since. I remember loving this movie, particularly the relationship between Freeman and Rock. Nurse Betty had a lot warmth and heart. Also, this was Zwellwegger when she could seemingly do no wrong - appearing in crowd pleasers and more thought provoking films, like this and White Oleander.

Morbii, your thoughts?

bearcuborg wrote: Morbii, your thoughts?

I haven’t watched it yet, but I did order it, and it should be in my hands shortly!

Love, like or hate it; one thing you cannot deny is Jean-Yves Escoffier's cinematography, which is stunning. Still waiting on the blu.

Bumstead wrote:Love, like or hate it; one thing you cannot deny is Jean-Yves Escoffier's cinematography, which is stunning. Still waiting on the blu.

This film has (or had) a genuine shot at Blu-ray, thanks to Universal's continually esoteric catalogue selections, but any chance of a US release has probably been scuppered by the revelations about LaBute.

I don't really remember this film, but I know I saw it. I wonder why it didn't make more of an impact on me with its apparently graphic content. Perhaps a licensed release will appear from Fabulous Films in the UK or Capelight or Koch in Germany. I would buy it to watch it again, preferably with the US/German DVD extras ported over.

Further discussion of LaBute's professional status with regard to the assumption that accusations against him are forthcoming (whew) has been moved here.

McCrutchy wrote:This film has (or had) a genuine shot at Blu-ray, thanks to Universal's continually esoteric catalogue selections, but any chance of a US release has probably been scuppered by the revelations about LaBute.

I don't really remember this film, but I know I saw it. I wonder why it didn't make more of an impact on me with its apparently graphic content. Perhaps a licensed release will appear from Fabulous Films in the UK or Capelight or Koch in Germany. I would buy it to watch it again, preferably with the US/German DVD extras ported over.

Thanks for the infos. I'll keep an eye out for the European blu's.

bearcuborg wrote:I saw it in the theater having liked Labute’s first two. For whatever reason, I haven’t seen anything by him since. I remember loving this movie, particularly the relationship between Freeman and Rock. Nurse Betty had a lot warmth and heart. Also, this was Zwellwegger when she could seemingly do no wrong - appearing in crowd pleasers and more thought provoking films, like this and White Oleander.

Morbii, your thoughts?

So, I caught this. After having read the back of the DVD and watching it, I'm about 90% certain I'd already seen it way back in the day and just totally forgot (hey, nearly 20 years is a long time). I either saw it in the theater or as a Blockbuster/Hollywood video rental...

I would say that I felt that the tone was MUCH different than I expected given the extreme reactions at the start of this thread. I was expecting something much darker and more akin to Very Bad Things (am I the only one on this forum that loves this film?), and possibly even some added gross-out comedy ala Me, Myself & Irene (which went to the forefront of my mind for obvious reasons).

I didn't find the film amazing by any means (which is probably why I forgot having seen it), but it was at least somewhat enjoyable despite the disappointment of not being greeted with aforementioned expectations.

I just saw this based on the recommendations here, and I was hugely impressed by it. I'm a fan of comedies with disarming moments of violence a la A Life Less Ordinary (which also deals with hit people), and this certainly delivered! It's an interesting mixture of surrealism and cringe comedy (my girlfriend and I struggled to watch the bit where Betty meets George McCord at the gala in one sitting), and I think it'll reward with additional viewings.