KEA Productions: DVD Movie Reviews
from the archives ofNuReel.com, The Berkeley Daily Planet, and Alameda Sun- written byKamala Appel
ratings: Plus(highest)-Neutral (okay)-Negatives (pass & omitted from archive)
N: Nurse Betty
O: O
Nurse Betty (plus)
Although I have a feeling that audiences will be split on theirreactions to this film, I think that it will be a film that filmstudents will enjoy analyzing. "Nurse Betty" follows a small-town girlon a cross-country adventure and into the fictional world of the soaps.Renee Zellweger plays the main character, Betty, with humor, sympathy,and quirky realism. I know it might sound oxymoronic to say quirky andrealism in the same sentence, however, Zellweger does portray themind-set of a relatively simple young lady caught up in a complicatedsituation, with as much realism as is possible. The adventure startswhen Betty becomes severely traumatized after witnessing a violentcrime. She enters into a fugue, "A fugue is a combination of amnesiaand physical fright. The individual flees from [his] her customarysurroundings toward the assumption of a new identity." (AmericanPsychiatric Association 1994.) She subconsciously avoids coping withher emotional pain and begins to confuse her bleak reality with thefantasy world of her favorite soap opera, "A Reason to Love". Shedecides to travel to Los Angeles because she is convinced thatsomething special is going to happen to her and her make-believe lover,Dr. David Ravell, one of the soap's heart throbs, played by GregKinnear.
This film reminded me of a series of other films that deal withcharacters that become so obsessed with a fictional world that theyconfuse fantasy with reality. Some of the other films include: "TheKing of Comedy" (the original one directed by Scorsese and starringRobert DeNiro, not to be confused with "The Original Kings of Comedy"),"To Die For", "Farewell My Concubine", and "The Purple Rose of Cairo".Her travels while in an altered state reminded me of "The Wizard of Oz"except instead of being the one normal person surrounded by oddcharacters, she was the odd one. There are qualities of "Forest Gump"also in this film, like Betty's continuous dumb luck. The filmmakersbehind "Nurse Betty" treated violence with humor, irony, and a blazeattitude similar to many Tarrantino films like "Pulp Fiction" and"Jackie Brown", and Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange". The musical motifsfor the characters reminded me of the establishment of a mood used in"Peter and the Wolf".
Yet, despite the similarities with a long list of other filmmakers andfilms, "Nurse Betty" stands on its own with a unique style andinteresting narrative. The tone for the film changes dramatically fromscene to scene and from character to character, but the overall mood iscomic and quirky. At times I felt as though I were riding a rollercoaster since one scene would be humorous one moment and then tragic amoment later. The filmmakers, who include director Neil LaBute ("YourFriends & Neighbors"), Gail Mutrux, producer ("Rain Man", "QuizShow", and "Donnie Brasco"), producer Steve Golin ("Being JohnMalkovich"), music by Rolfe Kent ("Election" and "Citizen Ruth"), andco-writers James Flamberg and John Richards (who won an award at Cannesfor Best Screenplay this year); did a tremendous job of creating comicdramatic irony. Although the ending was somewhat corny and far-fetched,it was not predictable, in my opinion.
The entire cast that includes: Renee Zellweger, Morgan Freeman, ChrisRock, and Greg Kinnear, all gave strong performances. Zellweger wasperfectly cast in the lead role of Betty. Although Freeman and Rockplayed well off of one another, they did not have the chemistry of afather and son. Greg Kinnear gave a fine performance, but his role asDr. David did not call for him to demonstrate his true acting ability.Their characters were well-developed and somewhat realistic in a zanyway.
If you enjoy offbeat humor in films like "Raising Arizona", and/or ifyou are into applying cinematic or television theory to a film, thenyou will probably enjoy "Nurse Betty". This film will open wide intheaters on Friday, September 8th. It is worth a rental, and would beequally enjoyable on the small screen.
O (PLUS)
Finally, an intelligent film targeted to teens! Director Tim BlakeNelson (also actor in films that include THE THIN RED LINE, DONNIEBRASCO, and O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?) and Screenwriter, Brad Kaaya(television's SHERMAN OAKS, and MALCOLM & EDDIE) hit the bigscreen with a modern-day adaptation of the Shakespearean classictragedy, Othello. To his credit, Kaaya does a tremendous job ofmodernizing O from the Elizabethan play, setting the story in asouthern prep school in Charleston, replacing the battlefield with abasketball court, making the king the big-man-on-campus basketballstar, while preserving the role adultery and jealousy play in theoriginal tragedy.
Although the dialogue is a bit awkward and unrealistic at times,especially during some of the love scenes between Desi (Desdemonaplayed by Julia Stiles: SAVE THE LAST DANCE, STATE & MAIN, DOWNTO YOU, and TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU) and O or Odin (Othello playedby Mekhi Phifer: CLOCKERS, GIRL 6, I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LASTSUMMER, and SOUL FOUL), the complexity of the characters, theiractions, and interactions, make the film very powerful to audiencesirrespective of their familiarity with Shakespeare's work. The cast andthe screenplay capture the essence of Shakespeare's play- the themes ofbetrayal, love, obsession, jealousy, and wrath in a manner that ifShakespeare were alive today, he may have at least approved of asimilar presentation (obviously the target audiences are quitedifferent: one very privileged and elite, the other very common).
The most fascinating performance comes from a supporting character,Hugo (Iago) played by Josh Hartnett, the up-and-coming reluctant heartthrob (PEARL HARBOR, TOWN & COUNTRY, VIRGIN SUICIDES, HALLOWEENH2O, and television's CRACKER). The filmmakers' decision to castHartnett in the role of the conniving Hugo proved to be a savvy movesince very few actors could portray the wicked, conniving, deceitfulnature of his character, and also convey the inner torment in a mannerthat makes this villain extremely sympathetic. His performance isworthy of an Oscar nomination or at least a Golden Globe, however, Ifear that the controversy surrounding this film may smother hischances. I also fear that many of the older critics may have problemsviewing a performance in a teen-oriented movie as an Oscar caliberperformance. The film also features strong performances by Martin Sheen(APOCALYPSE NOW, THE DEAD ZONE, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, andtelevision's WEST WING) as an overly competitive coach who is soobsessed with winning that he unknowingly neglects his family includinghis son played by Hartnett, and Elden Henson as a love sickover-privileged geek (THE MIGHTY and THE MIGHTY DUCKS). Other familiarfaces include Andrew Keegan as a Michael, one of the many pawns inHugo's game of deceit (BROKEN HEARTS CLUB and TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUTYOU) and Rain Phoenix as Desi's roommate and confidant (River andJoaquin's sister, former back-up vocalist for REM and the Red Hot ChiliPeppers, and featured in MAID TO ORDER, TO DIE FOR, and EVEN COWGIRLSGET THE BLUES).
The controversy engulfing the film testifies to the impact O will haveon audiences, both old and young. The film works because the cast andcrew truly transport Othello to a modern American setting in terms ofdemographics and the current sociopolitical climate. Miramax executivespushed back O's original theatrical release date due to the spree ofhigh school shootings, most notably Columbine since that incidentoccurred only weeks before the original April 1999 release date. Therealism of the tragic ending will probably make audiences feeluncomfortable, as it did the Miramax executives who were probably soafraid of an onslaught of angry letters and protests to the degree thatNelson and the rest of the filmmakers fought to have the rightstransferred to the bolder Lions Gate Films. However, I thinkcontroversy and debate is one of the best aspects of film since manymovies make people think and discuss issues that bring rise touncomfortable emotions. I hope that people will go see O and leavetheaters thinking about the realism of the violence depicted in thisfilm (or rather the factors that contribute to violent actions). Itbothers me that the American public appears to have given up onAmerica's youth by focusing on the effect of dysfunctional families andthe pressures students face, instead of exploring the causes. I am gladthat the writer of O set forth the argument that school violence is notbased on race or class because I am sick of the negative stereotypesabout the inner city and its residents.
I hope that other moviegoers will appreciate the efforts andaccomplishments that O has to offer. I suspect that the setting andcast will appeal to younger audiences, especially Gen Y; however, Ithink that the story will interest many different age groups. At timesthe film is a little too artsy fartsy (for example, unnecessarysymbolism with white doves and a black hawk- gag), and tries too hardto be philosophical; yet overall the film is very accessible to amainstream audience without pretense. O opens wide August 31st. Thisfilm would be equally enjoyable on video.
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