R.E.M. told us that everybody hurts, but do they? Jack Quaid, who plays Nate in Novocaine, the latest release from Paramount Pictures, certainly doesn’t.  

Nate is a lonely, mild-mannered assistant manager at a local bank who has a rare disorder that prevents him from feeling pain. After falling for his co-worker Sherry, played by Amber Midthunder, their bank is robbed and Sherry is taken hostage. Fueled by love, Nate sets out on a mission to rescue the girl of his dreams.

That’s all you really should know going into this movie. As always, I checked out the trailers after watching the movie and I definitely suggest you avoid them if you’re interested in checking this one out. It’s not the kind of movie with massive twists and turns, but so many moments that I enjoyed while I watched are shown in the trailer that I’m grateful I was able to experience the whole movie without knowing certain moments were coming.

If you need a taste of the marketing, the best promo for this movie came from Jack Quaid himself at a Clippers game, where he looked more beat up as the night went on.

The film was directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen and was written by Lars Jacobson. Quaid and Midthunder are joined by Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel, and Matt Walsh who flesh out the supporting cast in this action comedy film. Nicholson (yes he’s Jack Nicholson’s son) plays one of the bank robbers, while Batalon plays Nate’s gaming buddy, and Gabriel and Walsh play detectives working to solve the case. 

So, did Novocaine leave me love-struck or did I wish I was numb to the whole thing? Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts

Honestly, it might have been a general lack of awareness about the marketing and pretty minimal expectations, but I had a lot of fun with this movie! 

First off, I’m a sucker for a good needle drop and this movie has some absolutely fantastic ones, including right at the beginning of the opening credits. From the opening titles though to one of my all time favourite songs from The Darkness, they absolutely nailed these song choices and they work so well at these certain points in the movie. It’s not a make or break kind of thing, but it can’t be overstated how much fun a stellar soundtrack can be. 

Anyway, song choices aren’t the only parts I liked. Jack Quaid as Nate was so perfect. I first saw Quaid in The Boys and most recently in Companion (not ‘The’ Companion, Brandon) and he definitely knows how to use his physicality (or, I guess, lack thereof) to his advantage in these different roles. In Companion he plays a dweeby bastard to perfection, but in Novocaine he’s much closer to his performance as Hughie in The Boys. He’s definitely a sheltered dork, but he has an undeniable charm and likability to him that made me immediately drawn to him and invested in his well-being. 

It’s because of this care I had for his character that makes what he endures so impactful as an audience member too. He may not be able to feel pain, but I felt some of that pain on his behalf as the movie progressed. This was another high point of the movie for me, too, because I was really impressed with how well they play with the premise and how well they build up the moments that genuinely had me and others in our audience audibly groan in anticipation of what’s going to happen or wincing when it finally does. Whether I was laughing, wincing, or groaning though, I was constantly engaged and invested in these moments and really had a lot of fun with them.

I was a bit more mixed with some of the writing though. There were some nifty little moments that I won’t spoil here that surprised me and felt like clever little departures I didn’t expect the movie to make, but there were also moments where the cliches and some cheesy melodramatic lines made my eyes roll a little bit. It’s definitely a more middling script, but the main cast and their chemistry in particular elevated the material.

Speaking of the main cast, I was blown away by how much I enjoyed the first act of the movie, particularly with how much I bought into Nate and Sherry. The chemistry between Quaid and Midthunder was fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed their dynamic. I think this was so important for making the rest of the movie work, because if you really want him to save her, it makes you more engaged as the adventure unfolds. It’s not like I was deeply emotionally invested or anything, but I was eager as I was watching it and it definitely made a big impact on my viewing experience.

I can’t say the same for all of the supporting cast though. At best, I thought Walsh and, to a lesser degree, Gabriel were fine as the detectives investigating the robbery. They don’t have crazy prominent roles or anything, I just didn’t really care for them much when they were on screen. I was also mixed on Jacob Batalon, as Nate’s gaming buddy. He had some good moments, but I found his comedic relief character was more distracting and less funny in a movie that didn’t really need his character to add more comedy. Nicholson unfortunately did absolutely nothing for me as the main bad guy. He didn’t draw strong feelings out of me either way, so I didn’t really hate his character or anything, but I also didn’t think he did anything to stand out as an over the top villain either. These gripes are all fairly minor though as Quaid and Midthunder were the most prominent roles and they definitely both nailed it. 

The only other real issue I had was with the runtime and pacing. The movie sort of stumbled into the credits as it lost some of its steam. There was a point where I thought it was going to wrap up, but it kept going for quite a bit. It didn’t ruin it for me but it definitely could’ve been a bit tighter. 

Verdict

In the end, my issues with the movie were pretty minor for something that turned out to be so surprisingly fun. Quaid and Midthunder had great chemistry, and Quaid in particular really stood out as the lead. While the script wasn’t groundbreaking, it threw in enough unexpected wrinkles to keep things interesting. The biggest highlight, though, was how well they played with the premise. Everything built up naturally, and they found creative ways to use it without leaning on the exact same gag repeatedly.  
If you’re in the mood for something light and fun, Novocaine is a solid choice. Now playing in theaters!