2000, R, 108 minutes

Long before having the chance to actually see Nurse Betty, I'd heard a lot about it, but only in bits and pieces. I heard about a waitress who loves soap operas, a couple of hitmen, a soap star who plays a doctor, and I also heard that screenwriters John C. Richards and James Flamberg won "Best Screenplay" at the Cannes Film Festival. Needless to say, I was intrigued by these pieces of information, although I was still perplexed as to how they all fit together. Now that I've seen Nurse Betty I'm still a little confused, but in a very different and good way.

In perhaps the quirkiest and most offbeat story since Being John Malkovich, Nurse Betty is a Kansas waitress played to perfection by Renée Zellweger, and she also happens to adore a corny soap opera called A Reason To Love. Her used-car salesman husband (Aaron Eckhart) treats her like the cleaning lady, and when something terrible happens to him, she suffers a bizarre case of post-traumatic stress and begins to confuse reality with her favorite soap opera. She actually believes that she is in love with the show's star Doctor David Ravell, and failing to realize that he's actually an actor named George McCord (Greg Kinnear), Betty hits the road in order to find him in Los Angeles. At the same time, however, two hitmen (Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock) are on Betty's trail because of something her husband got mixed up in, and they believe that she's in on it.

What's amazing about Nurse Betty is the fine line it weaves between reality and the surreal. Betty may turn into a complete nutcase before our eyes, but because of her independent spirit and her touching innocence we never reach that point where we feel embarrassed for her actions. Equally interesting and just as entertaining are the hitmen following after Betty, where Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock make for an interesting duo. Things get especially strange once it becomes clear that Freeman's character is running on the same innocent and ideal wavelength as Betty, although things start to crumble towards the end. Overall, the film really isn't fall out of your seat funny, but the clever setup and the originality of it all makes it worth watching.

As for the cast, this movie could've been terrible had it not been for the excellent performances from just about everyone involved. Simply put: Renée Zellweger gives one of the best turns of her career and hopefully she'll be acknowledged for it. The reason Nurse Betty succeeds is because Zellweger obviously understands her role and never once resorts to mocking the character. Some of the credit, however, should be given to director Neil LaBute, who was able to bring this excellent performance to the surface. Greg Kinnear is also very good in this film, particularly in the scenes of absolute confusion, and Chris Rock was adequate in his role as one of the hitmen. Morgan Freeman, as usual, was an expert scene-stealer. Using the same effective methods as Zellweger, Freeman allows his character to go completely off the deep-end and he never once fails to treat it seriously. The story is full of humor that relies on serious acting in order to be funny, and the fact that the cast never once comes off as being on the inside of the joke is truly impressive.

For moviegoers in search of something that doesn't rely on the same old formulaic characters and plot setups, I strongly recommend Nurse Betty. It may not be the funniest film to ever reach theaters, but it does showcase a few excellent performances and at least it's original.