Novocaine (2001)

You won't be disappointed!

Overrated

Crappy film

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

I always love to be able to use the term "hidden gem" in my reviews, since those are the kind of movies I seek out most, and this Steve Martin vehicle totally qualifies. The plot is original. The ending is surprising. Steve Martin plays his character perfectly. I don't dislike Steve Martin, but this is the most I've ever liked him in a movie, since he usually can't seem to stop his "acting" from going too far over-the-top. I don't want to give anything about this unique film away, so I'll only say that this is simply a terrific mildly-black comedy, and I confidently rate it a solid ten.

Dr. Frank Sangster (Steve Martin) is a straight-laced dentist engaged to his assistant Jean Noble (Laura Dern). Pat (Lynne Thigpen) is the office manager. Then sexy patient Susan Ivey (Helena Bonham Carter) comes looking for prescription drugs. He prescribes 5 pills but she scrams 50 out of the pharmacist. He constantly tries to bail out his slacker brother Harlan (Elias Koteas). Then Susan comes back pulling him into a web of danger and her handsy criminal brother Duane (Scott Caan).This one didn't make me laugh once. It could have been an interesting crime noir but this needs to strip away the attempts at comedy. It also needs to be darker and more intense. Director David Atkins's amateur skills aren't good enough. Also Frank's lies don't make much sense either and his narration that he wants to see Susan again doesn't really solve it. It's just constructed poorly.

Steve Martin stars in an usual kind of movie and the expectations are failure, but this is not true and the movie is great. The story follows a dentist getting in deep troubles with a whore while he is married.Well, the movie has many merits. It has great thrills, great suspense moments and of course black humor which is something I liked a lot and I believe Novocaine wouldn't have been the same movie without it. It's just Martin and you connect him with humor and laughs and I really started respecting him as a comedian after watching his classic roles in The Jerk and The Lonely Guy. His acting is superb while his role is casual. More of those characters that are on the line between positive and negative, but after all interesting for the audience.The movie itself as I said is indeed something to remember and something fresh, mostly cause of the successful mixture between most entertain kind of movie genres and of course every day life drama scenes which are of course garbage, but the movie is not supposed to be a drama after all and this is why I close my eyes for the failed try of dramatic influence over the viewer.Rating:8/10

The DVD cover shows Steve Martin just as he was in the "Little Shop of Horrors" but there is nothing funny or original in this movie. Its just a no-laughs "action" movie. The movie is hard to believe as we watch Steve fall madly in love with a pathetic, homely drug addict and Steve makes one self-incriminating move after another. The tangled web he weaves is so contrived. And his moves are so unintelligent. Like it doesn't take any brains to get a dentist license. The ending is just bad-Hollywood and has little credibility. Better to watch commercials on TV. Laura Dern is somewhat watchable though. No wonder this movie was not advertised.