Review of Novocaine (2001) by Daniel S — 09 Jan 2014

This movie didn't really do a lot for me as I found the execution of the concept to be more than lacking. The film tries to mix dark comedy with a noir story and it just doesn't work at all. The cast is more than fine, but their efforts aren't enough to save what is a poorly constructed film.

And I really do mean that, it's like two different scripts haphazardly put together to make one film. I did like parts of the film, like Kevin Bacon's appearance as this egotistical actor who's researching a role and who's actually far more perceptive, or perhaps he's just better at guessing, than the cops who're investigating the murder case.

It wasn't hilariously clever or anything of the sort, but it was something fun in a film that lacked any real sort of consistent entertainment. There's just this low-budget look and film that is only more noticeable when you see how bad the movie is.

The History of Future Folk got away with it because it had a great script, cast and some incredible original songs. You focused on everything that was good about the film instead of the parts that were lacking.

This movie, because it was so bad, it made the budget stand out like a sore thumb. There was potential here to make something decent. But the comedy and the noir aspects just never mixed well enough to make a coherent and consistently entertaining film.