People complain that there aren't any original movies which aren't sequels or based on IPs, but when different, original movies do come out, they don't go see them. I suspect it's because the expense of going to the movies makes taking risks on new ideas, well, risky, but if Hollyweird doesn't see a return on the investments, can you blame them for just churning out more sequels and IP-based flicks?
One victim of this conundrum is Jack Quaid, nepo baby (parents are Dennis Quaid & Meg Ryan) star of The Boys who somehow managed to dodge both parents aesthetic genetics. (Someone has to be a Gene Hackman type. RIP) Earlier this year his sexbot-gone-murderbot movie Companion (7/10) opened to good reviews and poor box office and now we have Novocaine, a kicky high-concept action dramedy which also disappointed commercially and was on streaming in a few weeks.
Quaid is Nathan "Novocaine" Caine, a timid San Diego assistant bank manager with a congenital condition which makes him incapable of feeling pain or temperature which we're given hints by a stop on his shower valve to prevent it getting too hot and burning him, tennis balls on the corners of desks and counters, and drinking coffee from a mug filled with ice. He doesn't even eat solid food because he's afraid of biting his tongue off. He stays home playing videogames with his only "friend", Roscoe (Jacob Batalon, Ned from the MCU Spider-Man movies), whom he's never even met in real life.
A cute teller at his bank, Sherry (Amber Midthunder, Prey), hits on him, inviting him to lunch and then to an art show and due to the power of boners, he's willing to risk going out. They connect over the course of the evening, ending up getting quite cozy after she introduces him to the joy of pie. Cherry pie. (As in the baked dessert, you pervs.) They also run into an old school bully who had called him Novocaine back in the day, leading to the worst round of shots ever for one of them.
The next morning is Christmas Eve and things take a turn when Nathan's bank is robbed by three men dressed as Santa lead by Simon (Ray Nicholson, Jack's nepo baby who makes Christian Slater's Jack act look respectable). After the manager is killed for refusing to open the vault, they threaten to kill Sherry and to save her Simon opens the vault. The cops show up and they take her hostage as they exit the bank, leading to a big gunfight and casualties among the cops. After using his belt to tourniquet one cop's wounds, he takes his gun and cop car and chases after the robbers.
As Nathan attempts to find Sherry, two police detectives - Langston (Betty Gabriel, Get Out) and Duffy ( Matt Walsh, Veep) - believe he was an inside man because he opened the vault and stole a police car to follow them, but Langston isn't so sure because she spots Nathan's belt which he used as a tourniquet to save the cop whose car he borroowed's life. If a guy with no record, not even a traffic ticket, is a bank robber, why would he stop to help a cop?
As Nathan continues his quest, he begins to take more and more damage. While he doesn't feel pain, he's not Deadpool or Wolverine with the ability to instantly heal. Getting beaten up, slammed into walls, tortured, shoot by an arrow and/or grabbing a gun out of a deep fryer takes its toll and the damage gets pretty graphic, though it's played for laughs most of the time a la Evil Dead 2.
The script by Lars Jacobson actually takes the time to set up the characters and the underlying theme of people not being who they appear or claim to be which leads to a couple of twists, only one of which I saw coming. The time spent setting up Nathan and Sherry's damaged backstories adds more depth than the premise would usually consider necessary. Directorial team Dan Berk and Robert Olsen manage the action well, mostly staying on the humorous side of the giggly/grisly line, but towards the end things begin to drag out and veer into cruelty. And the ultimate resolution seems a tad pat, but doesn't sink it at the finish line.
Score: 7/10. Catch it on cable/streaming.
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