Nurse Betty (2000) - Zellweger's star rises in so-so crime comedy

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Bright colors and big stars attract on this poster for Neil LaBute's Nurse Betty

Betty is a waitress and is married to a rotten used car salesman. When she witnesses his violent murder, the shock messes with her brain, making her believe that she is having a relationship with her soap opera idol!

 

Nurse Betty is written by John C. Richards (Sahara (2005)) and James Flamberg (Midnight Heat (1983, composer)) and directed by Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men (1997)).

Betty travels to California with the two killers at her heels in this off-center story, which holds a warm and lovably performance by Renée Zellweger (8 Seconds (1994)) as well as fun supporting performances from Aaron Eckhart (Double Jeopardy (1992, TV movie)), Pruitt Taylor Vince (True Blood (2013, TV-series)) and Crispin Glover (My Tutor (1983)). Greg Kinnear (Feast of Love (2007)) is especially good in his soap opera scenes. Morgan Freeman (RED (2010)) is also good, but his scenes nevertheless become annoying, since it is hard to comprehend why his character puts up with Chris Rock's (The Longest Yard (2005)) character's filthy and insulting mouth. (SPOILER It turns out in the end that he is his father.)

Nurse Betty is a bit overlong, SPOILER and I also had a hard time buying that Kinnear's character even manages to get his psycho-fan Betty cast as an actress in his soap. Something is lacking for this Coen brothers reminiscent amusement to fully score, but its playtime with reality, dreams and soap reality is fine.

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 35 mil. $

Box office: 29.3 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.83 times its cost)

[Nurse Betty premiered 11 May (Cannes Film Festival, in the main competition) and runs 105 minutes. Shooting took place from December 1998 - March 1999 in Rome, Italy, Arizona, Colorado and California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release The Watcher, to a 7.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#4), grossing 25.1 mil. $ (85.7 % of the total gross). The film later made more than 33 mil. $ on the US rental video market. It won the Best Screenplay award at Cannes, a Golden Globe and a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. LaBute returned with 4 short and TV credits prior to his theatrical return with Possession (2002). Zellweger returned in Me, Myself & Irene (2000); Freeman with narration in American Masters (TV documentary) and theatrically in Along Came a Spider (2001); Rock in DAG (2000, TV-series), Disappearing Acts (2000, TV movie) and theatrically in Down to Earth (2001); Kinnear in Loser (2000). Nurse Betty is certified fresh at 83 % with a 7.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Nurse Betty?

Mallrats (1995) - Revisit the unworried '90s in Smith's 2nd

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A comic book-styled poster for Kevin Smith's Mallrats

We follow a pair of dudes who hang out at the mall, while both of them attempt to avoid losing their girlfriends.

 

Mallrats is written and directed by Kevin Smith (Clerks (1994)). It is the second film in Smith's View Askewniverse fictional universe, after Clerks, with a plot that takes place a day before the one in Clerks.

It is a study in the 1990s perception that history had ended, and that the time of great narratives had past. How so? Mallrats wallows in irony and sarcasm, snide remarks and shamelessly pubic 'dude sexism'. The girls show breasts and/or are sex objects. The need for real narrative, themes or meanings are intentionally left blank.

Shannen Doherty (Charmed (1998-01)) is best in the cast, and the Keystone Kops-like subplot about Jay and Silent Bob and La Rouge the mall security guard is not without its charm.

High art or just a good movie Mallrats isn't, but it is youthfully exuberant, has its share of good lines (often in dialog about next to nothing), and is an entertaining ode to the American mall in a way.

Related posts:
 

Kevin Smith: Tusk (2014) - Smith goes all-out wack
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess

Red State (2011) or, End of Days II 
Cop Out (2010) or, A Couple of Dicks   

Chasing Amy (1997) or, How to Lay the Hot Lesbian 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 6.1 mil. $

Box office: 2.1 mil. $ (North America only)

= Mega-flop (projected return of 0.40 times the cost)

[Mallrats was released 20 October (North America) and runs 94 minutes. Shooting took place from March - April 1995 in California, including in Los Angeles, New Jersey and in Minnesota, including in Minneapolis. The film opened #13 to a 1.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, declining from there for a 2.1 mil. $ final domestic gross. It was only released in a handful of other markets for a projected 2.5 mil. $ final gross. Roger Ebert gave it a 1.5/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. Smith returned with Chasing Amy (1997). Mallrats is rotten at 57 % with a 5.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Mallrats?

Being John Malkovich (1999) - Jonze, Kaufman and Malkovich's great triumph

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+ Best Movie of the Year

+ Best American Movie of the Year + Best Actress' Breakthrough of the Year: Catherine Keener + Best Dramedy of the Year + Best Fantasy Comedy of the Year + Most Undeserved Flop of the Year

 

How would you like to be a world-renowned actor? That is the possibility that presents itself on this praise-filled poster for Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich

We meet a very nerdy couple: The man works at the 7½th floor of a building as an archive clerk, even though he really is a puppeteer. Here he locates a portal into the brain of famous actor John Malkovich. This amazing discovery leads to a whole  bunch of things.

 

Being John Malkovich is written by Charlie Kaufman's (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)) and directed by debuting Marylander master filmmaker Spike Jonze (Her (2013)).

Kaufman's writing style blends Kafkaesque absurdism and American cinematic virtues such as neurotic, full and original characters with the concept of celebrity in what arguably remains his and Jonze's best work to date. The many eccentric, original and often funny or thought-provoking ideas that are somehow garbled coherently together in Being John Malkovich is the film's strongest triumph.
Former music video maverick Jonze captures the dark humor, drama and developments of the story excellently and relays them with visually creative exuberance (cinematography by Lance Acord (Marie Antoinette (2006))) that matches the soaring script.
Co-starring in the film, Catherine Keener (The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)), Cameron Diaz (There's Something About Mary (1998)), John Cusack (High Fidelity (2000)) and John Malkovich (In the Line of Fire (1993)) himself are all four just wonderful.
Especially the idea of desire as a living thing in itself was very interesting to me, but watch this movie for yourself and you'll likely catch things from it that the person/s next to you might not even think about. It is a rich experience. Being John Malkovich is totally unusual, extraordinarily conceived and carried out; full of weighty ideas and laughs, a true masterpiece.

 

Related posts:

 

Spike Jonze: The day after ... The Oscars 2014

Her (2013) - Jonze's disheartening hipster sci-fi romance 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Top 10: Best films about filmmaking 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Adaptation (2002) or, Charlie Kaufman's Fictional Life 

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Top 10: Best fantasy movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 13 mil. $
Box office: 32.3 mil. $
= Minor flop (returned 2.48 times its cost)

[Being John Malkovich premiered 2 September (Venice Film Festival) and runs 113 minutes. The script was written in 1994 and got to Jonze through his father-in-law Francis Ford Coppola. Malkovich reportedly liked the script but tried to have it focus on another star actor than himself, with him instead producing the film, until he eventually accepted to star in it. Kaufman and Jonze reportedly wanted Malkovich due to his mystic quality, and because there is a humorous effect in repeating his name over and over again. Shooting took place from July - September 1998 in England, New Jersey and California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #17 to a 637k $ first weekend in 25 theaters in North America, grossing 22.8 mil. $ (70.6 % of the total gross). The film was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning none. It lost Best Supporting Actress (Keener) to Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted, Director to Sam Mendes for American Beauty and Original Script to Alan Ball for American Beauty. It won 1/3 BAFTA nominations, was nominated for a César award, 4 Golden Globes, won 2/3 Independent Spirit award nominations and won a National Board of Review award, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Jonze returned with 10 videos, mainly music videos, prior to his theatrical return with Adaptation. (2002). Cusack returned in High Fidelity (2000); Diaz in Any Given Sunday (1999); Keener in Simpatico (1999); and Malkovich in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). Being John Malkovich is certified fresh at 94 % with an 8.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Being John Malkovich?