By Andre Paras
Video Editor
Meet Nathan Caine, a man who can’t feel pain. Fittingly enough, his nickname is inspired by the numbing drug novocaine, hence the title of this film.
“Novocaine” is the latest big studio R-rated action comedy from co-directors Dan Berk and Robert Olson, starring Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder and Ray Nicholson.
The film follows everyman Nathan Caine, played by Quaid, who meets the girl of his dreams, Sherry, played by Midthunder. They meet through their mutual, mundane corporate job. After a heist takes over the bank they work at together, Sherry is taken hostage by Simon, played by Nicholson, along with his two other goons.
Fans of the recent “Spider-Man” live-action series will also be happy to see Filipino-American Jacob Batalon serving as a great vessel of comedic relief in this already funny movie. His entrance into the movie is a big surprise, but even knowing this, he makes his short screen time valuable with laughs and smiles all around.
What makes this story refreshing and lets Caine fight back is his genetic condition, congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, or CIPA. Rather than this being the downfall of Caine, he channels his CIPA into a superpower to battle bigger and stronger foes, and does practically everything he can to get Sherry back in the process.
I’d argue that the movie is respectful to the disorder, in both bringing to light a rare issue viewers may be unfamiliar with, to acknowledging the day-to-day challenges it can bring. Plus, it allows the filmmakers to get creative despite following conventional film beats and cliches.
“There are obviously liberties taken with the condition in ‘Novocaine,’ as it’s very debilitating,” said co-directors Dan Berk and Robert Olson in an interview with movie network JoBlo. “At the same time, it’s a movie. We wanted to tell a story about this disability, but also someone who learns to turn that condition into a weapon.”
And with this film’s all-over-the-place plot, “Novocaine” is able to bend its genres throughout its runtime. The film begins as a lighthearted romantic comedy and quickly becomes an action comedy, to even a thriller as the stakes grow higher and higher.
All of it happens quite abruptly and the film continuously throws insane circumstance after another at the audience. After all, “Novocaine” operates off shock value, high-octane action and comedy. So, if you’re coming into this film looking to police its logic, you might as well leave the theater and go see something else.
But on the other hand, for those signed up for this experience, there’s a fun time ought to be had. The best thing I found was its crossover to all kinds of crowds.
For action fans, there’s a lot to love in the big set pieces and sequences, along with polished fight choreography and cinematography. This film definitely took notes from past action stars like Jackie Chan in turning practical props into big weapons. “Novocaine” capitalizes on this, with Caine battling using things like burning pots, or glass shards in his own hand to hit like DC comic superhero Wolverine, for example.
And for the girls that got dragged to the theater on a date to see this, there’s a lot of fun to find in the movie’s romance subplot, as well as fun and really unexpected needle drops and soundtrack choices. The film opens with a half-comedic use of “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M., but later features tracks like Chappell Roan’s “Casual” and “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” by Caroline Polachek during the two lead characters’ first date.
In general, “Novocaine” is as good of a date night action-comedy pick as it can be, and is comparable to films like “The Fall Guy,” “Bullet Train,” “Hit Man” or anything in the “Deadpool” franchise.
Though, another huge reason this movie is able to please many moviegoers is through the charismatic performance from Quaid. It was quite apparent Quaid had a fun time making this film through what I saw on screen, and that energy was infectious throughout the absurdities of it all.
“I love intentionally acting badly, it’s so fun…” Quaid said in an interview with ScreenRant. “I love when you try to be a decent actor in your life, and then you have the freedom to be as bad as you want.”
“Novocaine” could be the stupid fun antidote you didn’t know you needed, and it’s a great film made for the big screen, and still available there to watch. You may want to beware of all the gore and big deaths if that’s not your thing, but if it is, prepare for a sugar-coated freight train ride of a movie.
