I thought Nurse Betty was easily the best comedy of 2001. Renee Zellweger was simply perfect in the lead role, backed up by the considerable presence of Morgan Freeman, Chris Rock, Crispin Glover and Greg Kinnear. Some didn’t get this strange romance/road chase/suspense/chick flick from Neil LaBute. Pay them no heed, and rent this if you missed it.

I was very pleased to rent the DVD (available at Boîte Noire) and find a really solid little package of extras attached for Nurse Betty freaks like me. There are several very funny deleted scenes, including a standout where Freeman and Rock, desperately seeking Betty and the loot she has in the trunk of her car, are delivered Betty by a local thug (she turns out to be the wrong Betty). Rock delivers some hilarious dialogue in this bit - it’s really too bad it didn’t make it into the final cut of the film.

As well, soap opera buffs will appreciate nine whole episodes of A Reason to Love, the afternoon-soap-within-the-movie (each one only lasts about three minutes). The cast devour the scenery, delivering astutely wretched dialogue and manoeuvring their way through ludicrous plot twists - be sure to watch this hilarious spoof to the very last episode, the best of the bunch. Soaps haven’t been done such justice since Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. :

» Matthew Hays