‘Novocaine’ Review: A Winning Jack Quaid is Comfortably Numb in Painless Action-Comedy [C+]
It’s a pretty sad commentary on the state of Hollywood filmmaking that the only types of comedies being produced with consistency are hyphenated. Comedy-dramas, horror-comedies, and action-comedies, dominate cinemas in place of films that are purely meant to make audiences laugh. Action-comedies in particular seem to be especially in, with their hyperviolence often played for laughs (we can thank Deadpool for this trend). Novocaine, from directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, is the latest film to use absurd mutilations and grotesque gore as punchlines. But thankfully, it features a charming lead performance from Jack Quaid and some genuinely funny jokes – something other films of its ilk lack. That can’t entirely make up for the screenplay, with its oddly-structured, overlong plot and cheesy dialogue, but Quaid literally throws his entire body into the film in the totally admirable, committed way that true stars do, bringing a lot of his Hughie energy from his Prime Video series The Boys, another entry in the comedy gore fallout of Deadpool.
Quaid plays Nathan Caine, or “Novocaine” as his middle school bullies called him. His nickname comes from the fact that, thanks to a rare genetic disorder called Congenital Insensitivity to Pain, or CIP, he’s unable to feel pain or temperatures. As such, he lives his life as cautiously as possible – he has tennis balls on the corners of his desk, he drives well under the speed limit, and he even avoids solid foods for fear of accidentally biting off his tongue. He spends his days working a quiet job at a credit union and his nights playing video games alone, with his only friend a faceless voice on the other end of his gaming headset. Because of his overly careful lifestyle choices, he’s lived past the average life expectancy for people with his condition. But as always, life has other plans for Nate. After a meet-cute involving spilled coffee that would send most people to the hospital, Nate finds himself drawn to his coworker Sherry (Amber Midthunder). The two go on a date-that-wasn’t-supposed-to-be-a-date and end up spending the night together. Things are looking up for Nate, until a trio of bank robbers invade his workplace. They kill his manager, break into the vault with Nate’s unwitting help, and take Sherry hostage. Filled with the kind of vigor that only new love can bring, Nate steals a cop’s car and gun and takes off to rescue Sherry on his own. His disability turns out to be something of a superpower, as he finds himself able to take on goons twice his size without feeling that pesky thing called pain.
Nate’s leveling-up from overly cautious dweeb to vigilante superhero is sudden and swift, almost to a dizzying degree. Nate himself even seems unsure of exactly why he’s jumping into action in a way that seems totally out-of-character. As such, his plan feels appropriately impromptu and unplanned. But this leads to some strange choices on the screenplay’s part. For example, he goes about tracking Sherry’s supposed abduction location in what feels like the most complicated way possible, using a villain’s tattoo as an unlikely starting point. This leads to the film feeling like it’s padding its runtime with contrived situations for Nate to get out of, which would be excusable if they were carried out in a clever or exciting manner. But instead, these mini-capers are just tiring. One sequence involving a booby trapped house feels particularly perfunctory. Things aren’t helped by the exhausting third act, which features compounding reveals and fake-outs that don’t feel entirely earned.
As one would hope, the film uses Nate’s unique gift in unexpected ways. Violence and gore are pushed to the limit. But strangely, the execution of these nasty fight scenes is decidedly uninspired. The fight choreography is unimaginative, with the filmmakers clearly leaning on the shocking ways they can exploit Nate’s abilities rather than constructing clever action scenes specifically around the character. They evoke lots of winces and “ooh!”s from the audience, but building an entire film around its shock factor is a great way to make any movie feel hollow. Matters aren’t helped by the uninventive camerawork and editing. Every now and then, the camera swings in a way that accentuates the action, but that’s about the extent of the ingenuity exhibited by the cinematography. And the overreliance on extreme slow-mo at the most obvious times grows tiring.
But luckily, Quaid is here to supply the film with a buoyant energy that mostly makes up for what the filmmaking lacks. He’s engaging and relatable, managing to sell even the more hackneyed lines of dialogue he’s given. In particular, his character has a habit of tossing off sarcastic quips and pithy observations (once again, thank you Deadpool), and while they’re mostly creaky, Quaid infuses them with enough charm to keep them from dragging the film down. Nate’s habit of incessantly apologizing during his first big fight scene doesn’t necessarily make sense with the level of violence he’s inflicting, but Quaid manages to make it work with his goofy likability. Thankfully, he’s also given the gift of a handful of actually well-structured jokes, which he delivers capably. Midthunder makes for a compelling love interest, and their chemistry is palpable. Although Nate’s choice to leap into action and abandon his careful pretenses feels sudden, Midthunder’s captivating performance helps justify it.
Novocaine is, for the most part, painless (sorry!), thanks almost entirely to Jack Quaid’s movie star qualities. Despite the film’s original concept, it’s executed in a way that’s decidedly unoriginal, placing the success of both the action and comedy sequences squarely on Quaid’s shoulders. Luckily, he’s up to the task, showing that, like some genetic disorders, talent can be hereditary.
Grade: C+
Paramount Pictures will release Novocaine only in theaters on March 14.
He currently resides in Chicago and is a proud member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. He also writes and podcasts for Next Best Picture and co-hosts his own podcast “Halloweeners: A Horror Movie Podcast.” You can follow him on Twitter, Letterboxd, and Bluesky @codymonster91
- ‘Novocaine’ Review: A Winning Jack Quaid is Comfortably Numb in Painless Action-Comedy [C+] - March 8, 2025
- ‘Paddington in Peru’ Review: Third Time’s a Bit Less Charming for Cinema’s Most Lovable Bear [B-] - February 12, 2025
- ‘Love Hurts’ Review: This Fight Club is a Real Pain [C-] - February 6, 2025
2025 Emmy Predictions: The Limited Series/TV Movie Competition Is Not Child’s Play 
Oscars: Academy Establishes New Category for Stunt Design Beginning with 100th Oscars 
2025 Emmy Predictions: ‘The Pitt’ Aims to Claim Key Nominations and Resuscitate the Hospital Genre 
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 94 – ‘Mikey and Nicky’ (Elaine May, 1974)