betty sizemore ( renee zellweger ) live her life through soap opera a reason to love a a way to escape her slob husband and dull life . after a shocking incident involve two hit men ( morgan freeman and chris rock ) and betty go into shock and travel to la and believe that she be destine to marry the show main character ( greg kinnear ) . nurse betty be that rare thing and a less know film with an all star cast and a fluffy rom com plot that surprise with it terrific script and spot on act . indeed and such a plot make one question the r rating and but it warrant all right . the shock incident that send betty over the edge be a tad too graphic compare to the light and amusing comedy that be to come and feel like something out of a different movie and but at the same time it be necessary to believably show betty transformation into the doe eye and lovable nut job she become . a we go along with betty on her journey and director neil labute work some extraordinary magic which make the movie unique and high above your bog standard comedy of error . an example of this would be betty first meeting with her crush . she pour her heart out to him and he play along and think she audition for a part on the show . even a we be aware of the ludicrous nature of betty ramblings and the music swell a she speak and give u and the audience and betty emotional perspective . we almost believe what she be say and yet we understand that her mind be fracture . whereas other filmmaker would try to accent the ridiculousness of the situation to wring every ounce of possible comedy out of the scene and labute be sensitive to his main character and treat her with the utmost sympathy and understanding . the banter between the hit men play by freeman and rock be priceless and the excellent script doling out clever line after clever line for them to riff off of . freeman in particular be excellent a always and pace himself a his character slowly and blindly fall in love with his own ideal of betty and not even truly know who she be or what have happen to her . aaron eckhart once again show versatility in the thankless role of betty no good husband and he be almost unrecognisable . the other revelation here be kinnear and whose portrayal of the soap star be not too overcooked . there a tendency to lay on the celebrity bastard cliché as thickly a possible and and kinnear resists and instead imbue him with a pompous yet restrain self importance and despite simply be a soap star . the soap opera be realise so well and it could almost exist . labute and co hit the nail on the head with this one and a good thing too . if the soap opera have be too satirical and a large part of the film would not have work . to do a day of our life spoof a see in friend would have be the wrong move for this movie . the dedication to detail pay off and a the style and feel of the soap opera begin to bleed into betty reality more and more and while keep with the overall unintentionally comedic aspect of the genre . the scene on the set feel real and a oppose to some film in which the atmosphere feel so manufactured and you wonder why people who do it for a living can not get it right . the neat resolution of the final act and while be a tad predictable and be wholly satisfy overall . it a shame that after labute direct this wonderful film and the mainstream come call for him to direct the abysmal remake of the wicker man and a fine example of a man so totally above the material give to him . unfortunately and one can not absolve him of all responsibility . if you haven not see nurse betty and it something to discover . if you have and it worth a re visit . there be a charm to nurse betty that be infectious and even if it may not leave you think that much afterwards . a hidden gem nonetheless .