Novocaine

by Mike McGranaghan

Novocaine devises the highest of high concepts. Its lead character has a rare condition that prevents him from feeling physical pain. The movie establishes this fact, then proceeds to put him in a series of situations where his body is bruised, burned, mangled, and punctured. He feels none of it. We, on the other hand, experience his pain vicariously. That’s where the humor comes in. This guy doesn’t even flinch at stuff we would be screaming in agony over.

Jack Quaid stars as Nathan Caine. (Nathan Caine, Novocaine. Get it?) He’s a socially awkward assistant bank manager. One day, a pretty young teller named Sherry (Prey’s Amber Midthunder) starts making moves on him. They go out for drinks and hook up. Nathan falls madly in love for the first time in his life. Soon after, the bank is robbed by a trio of armed thieves, led by Simon (Ray Nicholson), who take Sherry hostage on the way out. Desperate to save the woman who has captured his heart, Nathan hops in a nearby police car and gives chase while two detectives (Betty Gabriel and Matt Walsh) try to piece together why a civilian has decided to take matters into his own hands.

The primary comedic idea in Novocaine is that the character has an advantage over the criminals since he doesn’t register pain. Simon’s right-hand man Andre (Conrad Kemp) tries to torture him for information, an act that proves utterly fruitless. During a fight in a restaurant kitchen with another of the thieves, a gun goes flying into the French frier. Only Nathan can stick his hand in the boiling oil to retrieve it. You’d think this idea would grow repetitive over time, but screenwriter Lars Jacobson keeps coming up with clever new spins to put on it. Each one is more outrageous than the last, meaning the laughs get bigger.

Pulling this off requires a delicate touch. Jack Quaid has that touch. The actor plays up the awkwardness of Nathan’s ailment, making each new injury a puzzling curiosity to him. At the same time, there’s an empathetic quality to the performance. Novocaine shows several of the struggles people with congenital insensitivity to pain face. When Sherry tries to get him to try a bite of cherry pie, he demurs, saying his nutrition comes in liquid form so that he doesn’t bite off his own tongue. When he takes a shower, a peg prevents the handle from making the temperature too hot. Despite jokes about Nathan having a superpower, Quaid guarantees we recognize the burden his condition causes.

Directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (Significant Other) stage the comic mayhem with relentless energy. They know how to blend the comedy with the thrills. The plot goes particularly over-the-top during the finale. Even then, it’s hard not to get carried along for the film’s wild ride because the mayhem is executed in such an enthusiastic manner. Stylish cinematography adds to the impact.

With effective supporting turns from Midthunder and Nicholson – spunky and menacing, respectively - Novocaine makes a crazy premise work. The insane, implausible action sequences succeed, thanks to an overall commitment to character. Nothing that happens to Nathan Caine is really plausible yet the adventure he goes on is hugely entertaining. You laugh and wince simultaneously, and the lower your tolerance for pain is, the more it will make you do both of those things.

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