CBS | Release Date: October 11, 2000
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
90
NewsdayMarvin KitmanJun 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: The Divine One's "Bette" is still good enough to win a Marvy for the best TV comedy of the year. [11 Oct 2000, p.B35]
90
Baltimore SunDavid ZurawikJun 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: By far, the best sitcom of the new season. [11 Oct 2000, p.1E]
83
Houston ChronicleAnn HodgesJun 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: I'm betting on Bette to get better as everybody settles down and lets the show settle in. [11 Oct 2000, p.1]
80
Orlando SentinelHal BoedekerJun 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: She rolls through the show with energy and brass, determined to make you look at her. It's an easy sell because she's telling the best jokes on herself. [11 Oct 2000, p.E1]
80
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan StormJun 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: She is simply hilarious. Lovable, insecure, over-the-top and hilarious. [11 Oct 2000, p.D01]
80
The Hollywood ReporterRay RichmondJun 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: Bette is full of good-natured mischief and proves a surprisingly easy fit for Midler. The weaknesses are obvious enough: a need to ease up on the fat jokes and the broad physical farce that's a little too obvious. But the screen loves Midler, which is never more apparent than during a scene that finds her turning a Kid Rock rap-rock tune into a jazzy swing number. You can't write that into a script; it's pure magic. [11 Oct 2000]
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)John AllemangJun 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: Even couched in a traditional sitcom format that feels deliberately out-of-date - I Love Lucy crossed with Burns and Allen - Bette perfectly exploits Midler's awkward relationship with fame. [11 Oct 2000, p.R2]
75
San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa TimesChuck BarneyJun 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: The trick for Midler's writers will be to make sure the show is at least somewhat grounded in real-life situations while keeping the inside-Hollywood stuff from being too inside. It's funny, for example, when she expresses vengeful bitterness over losing the 1979 Oscar to Sally Field ("Norma Rae"), but it might not be so funny to hear references to her 1982 celluloid stink bomb "Jinxed." (Remember that one?) [11 Oct 2000, p.D01]
75
Chicago Sun-TimesPhil RosenthalJun 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: But those looking for a "Larry Sanders"-like view into Midler's world, or even a "Seinfeld"-like simplification of it, are going to be disappointed. This is more like "I Love Lucy" with Midler channeling both Lucy and Ricky. [11 Oct 2000, p.67]
70
The New York TimesJulie SalamonJun 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: As always with Ms. Midler, you get more than you might have expected. [11 Oct 2000, p.E1]