Rating: Summary: Great. Super. Novocaine rocks. Review: . This is a great movie. you have to see it. i seen it earlier. it is a comedy that will make you laugh. when a sexy patient Helena Bolham-Carter (Susan Ivy)walks in, she suduces steve martin (Frank Sangter) into prescribing her drugs (with a large habit for painkillers), now he is a suspect of a murder. I will not tell you the ending. you will have to find that out for yourself. JJ
Rating: Summary: Not one of Steve Martins best. Review: An interesting little film with a very few laughs. However, the overall feeling of this film was more of an 'uncomfortable' rather than a 'Steve Martin funny'. I was disappointed and would not recommend it.
Rating: Summary: Good performances, barely watchable movie Review: An unamusing noirish black comedy. Steve Martin plays a dentist who ends up embroiled in sex, drugs and bloody murder when he makes the mistake of prescribing a lethal dose of stolen narcotics to one of his patients; he quickly becomes a murder suspect. Martin's fans may have difficulty accepting NOVOCAINE. It is a far cry from the likes of THE JERK and PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES. What is difficult for ANY viewer to accept is the possibility of Martin and Elias Koteas being brothers! On the plus side, there is good support from Laura Dern and Helena Bonham-Carter as the victim's sister, but good acting rarely makes a slovenly script worth your time. Viewers will wish they were actually under the influence of novocaine to be able to sit through this movie. The most memorable scene has Martin perfoming oral surgery on himself and a corpse. Eeew!! Then suddenly the tone of the movie becomes chirpy and upbeat. It's as though a clip from FATHER OF THE BRIDE was inserted because producers were unable to finish the picture for some reason!! Kevin Bacon is good in a glorified cameo as a dimwitted plainclothes detective.
Rating: Summary: You'll need a shot of Novocaine to sit through this Movie! Review: David Atkins "Novocaine" is as much a disaster as Michael Cimino's "Heaven's Gate." Fortunately "Novocaine" probably only cost as much as the wigs in "Heaven's Gate." Where to start? First of all the story/plot itself is only mildly interesting: a dentist, Frank Sangster (Steve Martin)is visited by a new patient, Susan Ivey (Helena Bonham Carter)who's obviously more interested in a Demerol perscription than in any dental work...and she'll do/does anything to get it. This encounter opens the gates to a series of scenes involving: murder, suicide, drugs, physical abuse, robbery and incest to name a few. The problem is that the tone of this film is so erratic and diffuse that it cannot support this barrage of situations. It's like trying to build a house on a poor foundation...it's bound to topple. And of course the poor foundation here is the screenplay written by the director, David Atkins. Plot complications come out of nowhere and and this means that continuity is lost after only 30 minutes into this film. To compound the situation, there is no sexual chemistry at all between Steve Martin and Helena Bonham Carter, who seems to have left her buck teeth in place from "Planet of the Apes" and brought along her hair-don't and wardrobe from the "Fight Club." Bonham Carter has been absolutely luminous in such movies as "Remains of the Day" and especially "Wings of the Dove." Ditto for Steve Martin especially in "LA Story." But even their combined charisma cannot save this sinking ship. On the positive side, Laura Dern does a terrific job as Jean Noble, a dental hygenist and all around loony. And Kevin Bacon is a hoot as an actor working with the police in preparation for a movie role. But in the end, "Novocaine" just doesn't jell, even though the music by Danny Elfman ("Sleepy Hollow") tries it's best to pump some life into this failed enterprise a la what Bernard Herrman did for Hitchcock's films. Let the buyer beware.
Rating: Summary: DEntists will pull your teeth out without novovaine Review: Don't expect to laugh at this one. It is sad in many ways. It is a well written story of tragedy...and it all starts when Martin's character gives into temptation...a temptation he will regret.
Rating: Summary: Martin's Dentist Noir!? Not Bad, But Helena Steals it Anyway Review: Frank is a successful dentist, with a beautiful fiance Jean. But when Frank is played by Steve Martin, Frank is going to have some trouble, just as he did in "Little Shop of Horrors." But from the beginning you know that "Novocaine" is not a usual film, if you are looking at the craziest opening credits, where X-rayed skulls are talking to each other, and eating and drinking.And this unlucky Frank meets a sexy patient Helena Bonahm Carter -- who asks him, "will you do it in chair?" -- and later, you would realize she is not an usual patient when she shows up at the dentist's office very late at night. Frank is inevitably drawn to her, cheating his fiance Laura Dean, but who can blame him? And quite naturally, and miserably, he has to pay the price with the uninvited drug-related investigation, and then perhaps, something more. Director David Atkins once wrote the script of Johnny Depp's "Arizona Dream," of which off-beat, original atmosphere I still don't know what to do with. And in "Novocaine" too, his first-time director attempt, the style is the same. Part thriller, part comedy, and part romance, the film goes with a steady speed, but the point looks often unsure even though the twists and turns of the story is intriguing. In short, the film doesn't bite, or don't know where to bite. But one thing is there which I can recommend for sure, and that's Helena Bonahm Carter. She succeeds in surprising us with the sexiest performance she ever did, and as a "woman of fate" she cuts an extraordinarily convincing figure, spilling over the charm she had never shown in "Planet of the Apes." If you're her fan, this film is not to be missed. So, film company Artizan made another interesting film, or noir comedy so to speak, of Steve Martin, whose career we find very hard to evaluate since the 1990s. But whether or not you like "Bowfinger," I think he can surprise us with unexpectedly good acting (such as that of "Spanish Prisoner" for instance), and in fact, Steve Martin in "Novocaine" is good as before. But truely amusing is Ms. Carter's coquetish character, who just can't help herself, and "Hard Way"-like cameo appearance of Kevin Becon who unwittingly torments guilt-ridden Martin.
Rating: Summary: Speaking from a dental perspective... Review: I am a dental hygienist, although not nearly as obsessive-compulsive and crazy as Laura Dern's Jean Noble. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this film! A local oral surgeon sponsored a private screening for local dentists and their staff members. In other words, the theater was packed with dental professionals. We had a ball! It played very well to our audience, as the movie was technically very good (dentally speaking). Other dental-type movies have left a lot to be desired in that category! The movie was indeed a comedy, allbeit a dark comedy. It's the kind of humor where you laugh, but with your hand over your mouth to cover up the fact that your humor is a bit deranged. Although, perhaps I am speaking for myself. Laura Dern, Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter, and Kevin Bacon all turn in super performances. It was a fun ride, and the who-done-it guessing game was much fun! I recommend this movie, especially to the dental community or anyone who is not squeamish!
Rating: Summary: Rinse and Spit! Review: I heard of Novocaine over last years Christmas season but learned that it was a limited release feature.I knew I would probally most likly never ever see in my life but I was wrong.After viewing this feature on Pay Per View I found out that I was glad to find out about it on the Internet. Being not such a fan of Steve Martin's older work I was surprised on how great his preformance was.Me also being a fan of black comendy could also have something to do with me liking the film so much.The supporting cast(Helana Bonham Cater and Laura Dern)I have never even see or heard of.I have no comment on those actresses earlier on so they were a new acting experence for me. The film deserved a 4 star rating because of the un-nesserary profanity in the film.The volence was also a little bit too hign but all in all the plot was wonderful and the actor's preformances were excellant.Would recomend to all. ENJOY!
Rating: Summary: Noir Served with Dental Floss Review: I must admit that I didn't expect too much from this movie, but its noir-lightness delivered. Steve Martin plays a dentist leading a life all too mind-numbingly (as if on Novocaine) smooth, perfect, and boring until enter the femme-fatale drug addict with a heart Helena Bonham Carter. Carter is somewhat miscast, but Laura Dern as the dental assistant/fiancee to Martin's character all too perfect and perky does a role here. The opening montage showing the skeletal works of a person chewing are unique and when the narrator mentions decay and how it destroys from the inside out building up insidiously, it will leave you running for dental floss and a toothbrush. The director's narrative that goes along with this DVD reveals some unique facts. Take for instance, the fact that the director's father and brother were both dentists. Teeth run in the family. It lends some realism to the storyline centering on a dentists supposedly gone bad. Just when you think you are on to this story, it takes twists and turns that, try as you might, take you blind-sided and pleasantly surprised. There are a few moments the movie misses when sticky-sweet romance enters the equation, but for the most part the movie is right on the mark. It takes some different turns than classical noir and doesn't follow that formula. Though not on par with Hitchcock, it runs in that vein and won't disappoint someone that is looking for noir with an additional twist.
Rating: Summary: really great!! Review: i thought this movie was sooo funny! i loved it! :) Helena was sooo GREAT in it! she's always really awesome in her movies! :) you should all definately see this.. its a great comedy.. and you never know whats gonna happen next! :)
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