A comedy thriller about a man who doesn’t experience pain trying to save the girl he loves from kidnappers, Novocaine is an uneven film with some hilarious moments.
There are some movies and television episodes that stick with you long after you’ve watched them. In one early episode of Grey’s Anatomy, Abigail Breslin played a child in the hospital who did not experience pain. I had vaguely heard of this disorder before, but I’ve never forgotten the scene where she and Alex each hold their hands in freezing cold water during a competition. She won and he realized that she had a serious medical issue.
Novocaine is the story of Nathan Caine, a quiet and reserved bank executive who lives with congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis. He does not experience pain and lives a life where he is constantly protecting himself from unintentionally hurting himself. Unexpectedly, his crush, Sherry, connects with him and shows him how his world could be larger. But when she gets kidnapped during a bank robbery, Nathan goes on a quest to save her, no matter the damage.
First and foremost, I have a great deal of respect for how they treat Nathan’s disorder in this film. It is taken very seriously (for example, he doesn’t eat solid food because he could unknowingly bite his tongue off, he he was bullied in school, etc.), and it only becomes something humorous because of Nathan’s choices. That is what takes this movie out of the spoof category and into the comedy category, which is something I really appreciate.
Nathan is incredibly awkward and plays a good straight-man to all of the wackiness that ensues around him and with his body. Jack Quaid manages all of this well and you enjoy watching his ungraceful choices because he is very sweet and fairly naïve. He has kept himself so sheltered and he has so few friends that he is truly a fish out of water.
The first and third acts are a little slow. There are a few cute moments and you learn about the characters, but they feel a bit empty. They’re nothing special.
The second act, though, is truly hilarious. I laughed out loud multiple times, and when it was over, I was a little disappointed that they didn’t spread that amusement throughout the film.
Nathan uses his disorder to his benefit. While other people get bumped on the head and knocked down, Nathan only notices something stuck through his leg because he can’t bend it properly. He slowly takes advantage of his lack of pain such that (without ruining these moments for you by saying too much) no one that any of us know could endure what he does. There is a torture scene that is hysterical (I found myself screaming out at some grossness) and Nathan’s reactions to his predicaments are just very very funny.
Although it is uneven, Novocaine puts forth a message of “you are more powerful than you think” and brings some laughs. The film gets stronger the longer it is on, so give it a chance.
Runtime: 112 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Sure
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
Available: Free for Amazon Prime members, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
There are some movies and television episodes that stick with you long after you’ve watched them. In one early episode of Grey’s Anatomy, Abigail Breslin played a child in the hospital who did not experience pain. I had vaguely heard of this disorder before, but I’ve never forgotten the scene where she and Alex each hold their hands in freezing cold water during a competition. She won and he realized that she had a serious medical issue.
