Novocaine (2025)

Jack Quaid plays Nate, a man who has a condition that stops him from feeling pain. That may sound all well and good, but Nate can't eat solid foods (in case he bites off the end of his tongue without feeling it), he has to set a timer to remind him to urinate before his bladder potentially explodes, and his home has a lot of extra padding around some of the fixtures and fittings. He tends to err towards caution, although that changes when he enjoys a date with a lovely bank colleague, Sherry (Amber Midthunder). That makes it all the more unfortunate when Sherry is taken hostage the next day by dangerous bank robbers. Determined to hunt them down and save the woman he loves, Nate decides to turn his apparent weakness into a bit of a super-power. 

Co-directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, both having shown a nice and consistent improvement throughout their joint filmography, Novocaine is helped a lot by a smart and fun screenplay from Lars Jacobson (who is finally on the right path to getting us all to forget that he co-wrote the screenplay for Day Of The Dead: Bloodline). Once the main premise is set up, you know that everyone involved is just running from one situation to the next with a focus on lots and lots of pain. And that's exactly what happens, with everything escalating from a slight case of the ouchies to a major bit of "oh my god, that's not going to be fixed any time soon".

Berk, Olsen, and Jacobson pace the whole thing perfectly, and the action is enjoyably scrappy and inventive. Our hero isn't particularly skilled, but he knows that he can take plenty of hits without suffering in the same way as others around him. He's not invulnerable, but it seems that way to some of the people he encounters. The 110-minute runtime fairly flies by once the action begins, and even a couple of extra sequences at the end of the film somehow don't make it feel as if it is outstaying its welcome.

Quaid is a very good choice for the lead role, once again relying on his slight awkwardness and charm ahead of any muscles or fighting capability. His character is driven by new love, and Quaid has experience in playing that kind of guy, even (especially) when he has to start questioning his feelings and motivation. Midthunder is also very good, and makes such a strong impression in her early scenes that you can easily understand why Nate becomes so driven to save her. Jacob Batalon is fun as an online friend who may need to finally meet Nate IRL, Betty Gabriel and Matt Walsh are two cops who start to suspect that our hero may be working with the villains, and Ray Nicholson is entertainingly callous and vicious as the nominal head of the criminal gang.

Funny and violent in equal measure, and with just about the right tone maintained throughout, Novocaine manages to feel relatively fresh and unique while reframing the kind of visceral action that we've seen in many different movies over the past few years. It always feels slightly ridiculous, but that helps to take the edge off of some of the more wince-inducing injuries we end up seeing. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants an action thriller with a fun twist on many of the usual tropes. You'll find it a relatively painless viewing experience.

8/10

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Novocaine (2001)

A quirky comedy thriller that doesn't have quite enough laughs or thrills, Novocaine isn't a bad film, by any means, but it's far from a great one. The script isn't exactly sizzling, and the execution of the material lacks any style and flair, but everything is made better thanks to a great cast who look like they're having fun.

Steve Martin stars as Frank Sangster, an orderly and efficient dentist who runs his business with constant help from his loving partner, Jean Noble (Laura Dern). That ordered and efficient life is turned upside down by the arrival of Susan (Helena Bonham Carter), an attractive young woman who also has a bad habit of stealing drugs. Susan comes with some bad baggage, in the shape of her violent brother, Duane (Scott Caan). Frank also has a troublesome brother, Harlan (Elias Koteas), but he's not as troublesome as the corpse that turns up, looking very much like he has been put in that state by Frank.

Written and directed by David Atkins (with Paul Felopulos helping create the story), this is a quirky comedy-tinged thriller that just falls short of being really worth your time. The twists and turns aren't twisty and turny enough, the little laughs are just that - little - and the whole thing feels as if it is trying, and failing, to be cool.

The cast all do a great job, and that's what helps the film to stay just above average. Martin is solid in another non-comedic role, allowing most of the humour to come from the characters played by Dern, Caan and Koteas, who all have fun with their roles. Helena Bonham Carter is good, and Keith David and Kevin Bacon steal their limited onscreen time, playing a cop and actor researching an upcoming cop role, respectively.

Novocaine is enjoyable enough but, and here's something I thought I'd never say, there are a few much better dentist movies out there. The Dentist and The Dentist 2 are horror movies that make the best of our instinctive fears while The Whole Nine Yards takes a more similiar path to this one, with better comedic results.

This movie is worth a watch, but it's probably not one to revisit and grow overly fond of. It's more of a temporary filling.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Novocaine-DVD-Steve-Martin/dp/B00009B0QH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377031436&sr=8-1&keywords=novocaine