Nurse Betty

“Nurse Betty” is not so much a movie about a nurse, but it is a good depiction of how nurses can sometimes be portrayed by the media. In this film a small town waitress named Betty fixates on one doctor as portrayed in her favorite soap opera, “A Reason To Love.”
After witnessing her husband’s murder while watching an episode Betty begins to become delusional, believing that she is a nurse in the hospital where the character of Dr. Ravell from the soap opera works. Betty also believes herself to be his ex-fiancé and that she is still in love with him. As this delusion takes hold she packs her bags and leaves the scene of the crime to head to Los Angeles to find him.
Because of her delusions Betty does not often relate well with others. She has convinced herself that she is an actual nurse and is in love with Dr. Ravell. For this reason she fails to understand why others cannot accept this. The remaining nurse, doctor and hospital administration portrayals are all minor roles. Many are little more than walk-ons and cardboard cut-out soap opera stereotypes.

The ones who are really in these positions and not characters from the soap opera are portrayed more fairly than the soap characters. When Betty arrives at what she believes is the hospital where Dr. Ravell works the administration is at first depicted as sincere in response to her claims of being a nurse and looking for Dr. Ravell, an acclaimed cardiologist who should work there. Even though he has never been heard of before.
Little is shown of how Betty handles herself as a nurse. Mainly this is due to the fact that she is not a nurse. Even though she believes herself to be one. The other minor portrayals of nurses in this movie are generally positive and believable.Overall this movie shows several examples of how Hollywood portrays those in the medical profession. Both with the medical professionals as characters and with the more stereotyped soap opera characters.
LaBute, N. (Director). (2000). Nurse Betty [Film] Hollywood: Gramercy Pictures