Review of Novocaine (2001) by David S — 20 Jan 2010
The weakest Steve Martin movie I've seen so far. It really made me wish that it was better than it was, but it wasn't.
The concept behind the film was solid, and a lot of the ideas behind its execution were fine, too. The script and way everything played out felt rather rough around the edges, though - and the voiceovers reminded me of more whimsical Steve Martin movies.
The cast was great and all did a fine job with their performances. Steve Martin plays an entertaining straight man lead with a bit of understated humor throughout - plus a bit of physical comedy. Helena Bonham Carter and Laura Dern fit their roles to a tee, as did Kevin Bacon (Who was just there for comic relief.) and Elias Koteas.
The direction is solid, and Oingo Boingo's Steve Bartek backed the film with an eerie original score.
Novocaine's primary weaknesses really just strongly lie in how rough around the edges its writing is. None of the characters are particularly fresh or well developed, and further three dimensional development could have strengthened the story considerably. Likewise, the central thriller-mystery of sorts isn't all that well plotted and some of the twists could have been better executed. The ending feels like it was tacked on from a completely different movie, too.
In short, there IS entertainment to be seen in Novocaine, but its roughness really makes it a take it or leave it film - some people will get more out of this than others, but the strengths and weaknesses are pretty evenly balanced, which isn't a particularly good thing. I'll probably watch it again sometime.
This review of Novocaine (2001) was written by David S on 20 Jan 2010.
Novocaine has generally received mixed reviews.
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