Directed: Dan Berk and Robert Olsen
Written by: Lars Jacobson
Starring: Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Jacob Batalon, Ray Nicholson, Conrad Kemp, Evan Hengst, and Betty Gabriel
Runtime: 110 minutes
‘Novocaine’ sinks its teeth into the gruesome glory that everybody physically hurts except for Nathan Caine
Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) feels no pain!
“If you’re on your own in this life. The days and nights are long. When you think you’ve had too much of this life to hang on, well, everybody hurts sometimes. Everybody cries. Everybody hurts sometimes.” – “Everybody Hurts” (1992) by R.E.M.
Nathan (or Nate for short) wakes at 6:30 a.m. to start his day. He’s a 30-year-old assistant manager at a San Diego bank. Nate gets himself together, makes a smoothie, and drives in the roadway traffic on his way to the office in a scene that seems a lot like Peter’s (Ron Livingston) soulless freeway trip in “Office Space” (1999).
R.E.M.’s aforementioned track on “Automatic for the People” escorts Nathan during this sequence, capturing his state of mind and emotional aches. He’s a capable, educated fellow, but we soon discover that he doesn’t have a girlfriend, and his primary engagement with the planet outside of his workspace is with one online video game pal, Roscoe (Jacob Batalon).
Of course, they’ve never met in person.
Nate’s communal distance is rooted in his condition. It’s called congenital insensitivity to pin or CIP. The man cannot feel physical pain, which one might think may come in handy during an MMA bout, a car accident, or just a simple slip on an otherwise perfectly innocent-looking sidewalk.
Not so fast. Nate could become seriously or even gravely injured, and he wouldn’t know it.
Directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, who collaborated on several features, including “Significant Other” (2022) most recently, and screenwriter Lars Jacobson seize upon Nate’s disorder and exponentially explore insane bludgeoning possibilities for our good-natured banker in their wild action comedy. “Novocaine” shoots into this premise for 110 minutes and provides a proper prescription – in the most improper ways - for audiences who love the creative pugilism genre, such as “Nobody” (2021) and “The Shadow Strays” (2024).
Mr. Caine’s violent venture begins when three threatening robbers (Ray Nicholson, Evan Hengst, and Conrad Kemp) – dressed as Santa Clauses because it is December 24 – infiltrate the bank, steal from the place, and take Sherry (Amber Midthunder), a teller, hostage. Naturally, Nate’s blood pressure rises due to the theft, but he made a hopeful connection with Sherry the day before, and this lonely heart may have found love with this charming 20-something. So, her capture during the robbery immediately sets Nathan into rescue mode, no matter the jeopardy he might face, including stealing a police car and encountering a menacing, burly tattoo artist and the three crooks, each with deadly mean streaks.
Nicholson, Hengst, Kemp, and the filmmakers effectively and immediately introduce a sense of menace as the terrifying trio willingly blaze bullets into or press punches onto anyone who stands in their way of financial freedom. Hence, they gladly present fearsome foes for Nate and transgress his and Sherry’s safety.
Midthunder and Quaid offer earnest chemistry as two on-screen coworkers sharing intimacy outside the office, as Sherry helps break Nate’s “invisible chains” through her genuine attraction to him and sensitive grace.
Quaid’s soft-spoken congeniality with Nate and the filmmakers’ imaginative avenues to desecrate a human being (which will not be revealed in this review) are the two cinematic drugs that make “Novocaine” a worthwhile, entertaining, and a bit sadistic trip to the movies. Quaid’s performance leans into the loneliness of modern singles while not placing blame on social media but on Nate’s hang-ups due to his CIP.
Nate’s arc has a million miles of runway to transform from zero to hero. Berk, Olsen, and Quaid find plenty of asphalt for Nate to emotionally find his backbone through physically fighting against bullies while simultaneously absorbing absurd volumes of punishment and gore to the delights and grimaces of cheerleaders sitting in theatres.
If human desecrations splattering on the silver screen do not inspire you to stand up and shout, this is not your film. However, for the target audience, Berk and Olsen’s ferocious and funny flick is worth a shot and, perhaps, multiple viewings.
Still, this big-screen medication wears off in places too.
Some interactions between Roscoe, Sherry, and a police officer (Betty Gabriel) in the kinetic third act will prompt eye rolls rather than eyes glued to the screen.
The lighting frequently feels dark, and the settings almost always seem universally grimy, which is peculiar for San Diego.
It’s also difficult to imagine that a bank vault simply has a three-digit combination lock, like your high school locker, but it does in this movie.
In addition, the triad of crooks – Simon (Nicholson), Ben (Hengst), and Andre (Kemp) – might be frightening, but they don’t exude everlasting criminal charisma like Ganz (James Remar) and Billy Bear (Sonny Landham) in “48 Hrs.” (1982) or Neil (Robert De Niro), Chris (Val Kilmer), and Michael (Tom Sizemore) in “Heat” (1995). Nevertheless, that’s not this movie’s mantra.
Instead, “Novocaine” sinks its teeth into the gruesome glory that everybody physically hurts except for Nathan Caine.
Jeff’s ranking
2.5/4 stars
