Novocaine
Cast
Steve Martin as Dr. Frank Sangster
Helena Bonham Carter as Susan Ivey
Laura Dern as Jean Noble
Elias Koteas as Harlan Sangster
Scott Caan as Duane Ivey
Directed by
David Atkins
Rater #2 has description and review
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
4/10. Steve Martin has once again proved himself worthy by acting very well
in a comedy. The movie itself, however, doesn't do as well. You see,
Martin is a dentist named Frank Sangster who is quite successful. He
has many people and hygienists working under him, including his
girlfriend Jean (Laura Dern). However, one day Susan Ivey (Helena
Bonham Carter) wanders into his office, needing a root canal, but
gets lots of drugs instead. Frank is getting scrutinized for,
supposedly, selling drugs to patients. Soon, he gets involved in
murder and falls in way over his head.
The major flaw of this movie? Not funny. I laughed a couple times,
but I suspect almost all of them were forced, because I thought they
were humorous, but not enough to make me chuckle, or even snort.
Martin is, of course, best in comedies, but to make them work, he
needs more than his name and face. He does have great comedic timing,
but he just couldn't pull it off. Not to say he wasn't bad at acting,
he just didn't make me laugh. Carter, though nowhere near her
performance in Fight Club, did a very good job, and she seemed to
have chemistry with Martin. Dern, however, seemed to be out of place,
and just went in and out of the movie at times. That brings me to my
next point, which is a good thing. Many of the events that occur
early on in the movie that you wouldn't even remember come back later
and become involved in the story.
There were lots of scenes, with cool transitions in between them,
with a few of them being X-Rays of the characters as they are moving,
but others are a purple bar that sweeps across. Very cool. Martin
provides a narration that is scarce and would have been better if it
had been more widely used or not used at all. And, many of the plot
developments were somewhat heavy for a comedy (no matter how dark).
Novocaine relied on mayhem to make us laugh, which I didn't buy.
I also thought it seemed like Martin was trying to reach to an older
audience (more than the teenagers) by constant swearing that was not
necessary. It also had many grisly images that I didn't think needed
to belong there (also included is that teddy bear�brrr). Maybe it
would have been better if Martin had made this as a drama (which
would have worked), because of its dark comedy style that seems to
overtake it sometimes. Many secondary characters were unnecessary.
I did, however, like the mystery that overtook the story. I found it
more enjoyable than the supposed humor. The ending, nonetheless, had
everything explained and wrapped up in a nice little package and
express shipped to our hearts (well, maybe not that last part) and
was unsatisfactory. If it had been more ambiguous, it would be able
to be more believable. I was thinking, all the way through the movie,
that everyone tried way too hard to make a substantial comedy. A
character's breakdown at the end didn't make be believe him/her.
"Pretty funny, huh?" a character asks during the movie, when another
gives a negative response. I couldn't agree more.
Rater #3
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #4
Has Not Seen Movie
Rated R for violence, sexuality, language and drug content.
Running time: 95 minutes
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