Carolina Ha Ha Reviews

Nurse Betty starts off very slow as the producer sets the stage and introduces the characters. This is not a comedy full of laughs. Rather it is a melodrama that plays out as a waitress lives out her dream life after witnessing the horrific murder of her husband. The plot portrays a tangled web of lives that intersect between the real and fantasy.

Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger), a most likeable character shows her sincerity, sweet nature and innocence as a small town waitress occupied by her teenage objective to become a nurse. She has charisma and a sixth sense about her. Betty and her husband Del (Aaron Eckhart), an adulterer and cheating car salesman live in Fair Oaks, Kansas. Dell totally ignores Betty and takes advantage of his wife's kind innocence.

Betty plans to take nursing classes to improve her lot in life and leave her waitressing days behind her. She sinks into her dream life when she watches her favorite soap opera, "A Reason to Love"; and falls in love with the super-star brain surgeon, Dr. David Ravell (Greg Kinnear.)   

It's Betty's birthday when two thugs, Charlie (Morgan Freeman) and Wesley (Chris Rock,) enter the picture and that's when the action begins. Del gets caught in his dirty tricks and Betty goes into a trance state to cope with the traumatic violence that occurs in her home. It is important to say that I feel all the foul four-letter language is totally unnecessary, but is spattered throughout the movie.

Betty drives to Hollywood in one of her husband’s cars in search of her dream fiancé, Dr. David Ravell. Betty, in her trance state, doesn't understand that Dr. David Ravell is simply a soap opera actor played by George McCord. All the while, Betty has no idea that Charlie and Wesley, the two hit men, are following her every move.  

We are rooting for Betty all the way to find her dream lover and make a happy ending to this implausible story. One of the funniest scenes happens when Betty behaves like a real nurse and saves the day! The director, Neil Labute, intrigues us with these imaginary characters and the storyline of small-town girl gets rich and famous through an unexpected turn of events.

The scenes flip back and forth between the main characters situation and circumstances. The characterization goes to extremes of spoofing and stereotypes. It's worth watching if you can overlook the violence and the language, which gives it an R rating.

Review by Debby Bruck

    

Mumford

1999  USA  

111 minutes  

Rated R: sex, language and drugs

Director: Lawrence Kasdan

Stars: Loren Dean, Hope Davis, Jason Lee, Alfre Woodard, Mary McDonnell, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Zooey Deschanel, Martin Short

Studio/distributor: Buena Vista

 

Mumford intrigues us as the characterization develops. The director plays with common human frailties and qualities, such as jealousy, weakness, rebellion, and love. The title hints at the core of the movie, reading "Mum" is the word. Yes, this is about our secret lives, who we are deep down underneath all our actions and behaviors. We learn the importance of really listening as we watch the interplay between doctor and patient unfold.

The new psychologist in town of Mumford, is Dr. Mumford (Loren Dean.) We wonder whether this is coincidence, and we don't find out the connection until late in the story. The doctor's methods are quite unusual and he crosses the line when he talks about patients' problems outside of the office setting. Nevertheless, Mumford is the most liked and well respected of all the shrinks in town. This sets us up for jealousy and plotting by the other psychiatrists who are losing business.

We are introduced to a number of town's people who walk through Dr. Mumford's office door. We hear the problems of townspeople who lie down on his couch, and watch how he handles each of these individuals as their lives pull apart and come together. Henry (Pruitt Taylor Vince) the neighborhood pharmacist lives a fictional life of sex and romance, which destroys his marriage. Sophie (Hope Davis) Dr. Mumford's love interest has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Her mother is the one who really needs psychiatric care. Althea (Mary McDonnell) is stuck in a disappointing, boring marriage, which has led her to a shopping obsession. A schoolgirl (Zooey Deschanel), who appears to be an anorexic with image problems, becomes an item with Althea's son. One client, Skip Skipperton (Jason Lee) is a young free-spirit billionaire on a skateboard looking for friendship, love and meaning in his life. His "Panda Modems" facility employs most of the folks in town. Although Skip is lonely, he can't connect with people because he doesn't know if they are out for his money or true friendship. Dr. Mumford befriends him and matches him up with a neighbor. We also learn bits and pieces of Dr. Mumford's life, past and present, and what he is doing in the town of Mumford.

This is not another rip roaring hilariously funny film. There is no slapstick or tickling your funny bone jokes. I would classify it more as Mystery Theater -- a love story with moments of sorrow and joy. There are some flashback scenes showing drug use and sex as we learn about Dr. Mumford's past. But, that would tell the whole story. You'll have to see it to find out more.

Review by Debby Bruck