Novocaine

Rating:
Summary: Martin has done better
Review: I was not comfortable watching this movie...I could not, for the life of me, figure out what it was trying to be. It sure wasn't funny, unless you think that funny is laughing at something that makes you cringe. And it wasn't serious because there were too many pratfalls. So what was it?

I thought it was a shame that such a good cast was utilized for a film like this. Not that it was bad, per se, but it just was not good. Can you tell that I am ambivalent about "Novocaine"?

One of the best elements was the music. That is the only thing that seemed to hold the movie together.

Rating:
Summary: novocaine will keep you guessing
Review: Just saw Novocaine at the Boston Film Festival. Steve Martin was there in person to accept the 2001 performance award for his role in the film. What a clever black comedy suspense thriller. Steve Martin stars as a dentist who falls in with Helena Bonham Carter, a young girl who uses the dentist to get her prescriptions for painkillers. Laura Dern is Steve's sexy co-worker/fiancee who doesn't realise that her man is off having sex with a druggie. Along the way, Steve Martin's character becomes embroiled in lies, deceit, and murder. A clever and funny film. Trying to figure out who-dun-it and why was never so much fun. **Kevin Bacon is hilarious in his cameo as Lance Phelps. His best performance in years.

Rating:
Summary: Painful dental visit
Review: More times than not, Steve Martin is dead-on as an actor, musician, funny-man, cat-juggler, playwrite and director. Once upon a time, Steve Martin was in some very funny films... his raw 1979 silver-screen debut "The Jerk"; several brilliant successes in the 1980's with "Planes, Trains & Automobiles", "Roxanne", "All Of Me", "Parenthood", and probably my favorite of his "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"; the 90's lighter side with "Father Of The Bride", and "L.A. Story". Recent flicks include 1999's bomb, "Bowfinger", with a near sighted Eddie Murphy. 2002 finds Martin teamed up with another above average actress in pretty Laura Dern... I thought this one might have a chance as one newspaper called this a "cult" film guaranteed to impress. The acting is downright flat... accompanied by Martin's uninspired narration. I had so hoped that this film would have expanded on his famous dentist's role (with patient Bill Murray) in "Little Shop Of Horrors"... but it didn't. What is Steve Martin doing in a murder mystery anyway? Helena B. Carter (as Ivey) has been inspirational in some films, but not here... there are some scenes where it actually looks like she's reading from cue cards. Laura Dern plays a cutesy scatter-brain dental assistant thru 3/4's of the film... then we find out who's behind Ivey's murdered drug dealing brother. Like a dentist's visit is often times... "Novocaine" is, for the most part, painful to watch. I watched this DVD once and then tried to get thru select scenes a 2nd time (just to make sure I didn't miss something) and it did not impress. As a matter of fact, it hasn't impressed me so much... that I won't keep it. Steve Martin was close to the bottom with "Bowfinger". Now, I know he's at rock bottom with "Novocaine". Rest assured... Martin's next movie HAS to be better.

Rating:
Summary: Suprising
Review: Novocain is definitely not what I expected it would be. I expected a screw ball comedy that was overly done and with bad actors. That is not what this movie is though.

Steve Martin does a brilliant job in his role and makes me believe that he could do other things besides comedies. I believe that he has the talent to do dramas. But, his comedic abilities are tremendous, and they show through in the film in spots where only he could make it funny. The other actors did a good job too. Laura Dern was terrific and Helena Bonham Carter was also excellent.

Novocain had great editing and directing. It definitely had me intrigued into the story. I don't give it 5 stars simply because there were moments when the camera views and music were very cheesy and overdone.

However, Novocain was an excellent film that didn't get enough praise and publicity. 4 Stars

Rating:
Summary: The Over The Top Life and Times of A Dentist In Love
Review: Novocaine is a film that promised so much given the talented actors attached to it,Steve Martin, Helena Bonham-Carter and Laura Dern and delivered so little.
The main problem of course lies squarely with a very weak and over the top script that tried so hard to explore the comedy and thriller with a twist genres, but was clearly lost between the two.
Black Comedy is a very peculiar genre,and the term can be quite misleading.Genuine black comedy films are very few and far between, for it takes quite a special talent to write hidden,subtle and ironic humour.
Also,the problem with Novocaine lies with a very mediocre direction from first timer David Atkins, who annoyed the 'fillings' out of me with his numerous x-rays cuts.
The whole plot just does not make any sense,
A dentist (Martin) with a loyal fiance(Dern),suddenly,at the very first sight and without any plausible explanations falls head over heels for this mysterious patient(Bonham-Carter)and begins an involvement that nearly destroys his life,(one that includes a couple of love scenes,and a topless miss Bonham-Carter!)
See,I know that she is an excellent actress,one of the best Brit exports to American cinema and she has a vulnerable and classic beauty, but not the sensuality, sexiness and allure that drove Dudley Moore mad for Bo Derek in Ten.So,in my opinion,Martin instant infatuation with her character was not believable.
Yet this infatuation leads Martin to all sort of trouble: stolen drugs, Bonham-Carter's over the top psycho brother(a good Scott Caan)whom the writer again for no reason at all decided that he will be having an incestious relationship with his sister, (??!!!!), and Martin's own brother, whose role was so weakly written as to render him redundant(a waste of time and talent for Elias Kotias)..
Of course nothing is what it seems, and by the time the film gets to the part when things might become more interesting,I lost interest altogether, and called my dentist for an appointment!
Admittedly, dentists have had a very bad PR with Marathon Man,and it did to them what Jaws did to Great Whites and swimming.Novocaine will not improve the image of dentists, but for quite different and boring reasons.

Rating:
Summary: ODDBALL SUSPENSE COMEDY, WORTH A WATCH
Review: Novocaine is labeled as a dark comedy in the reviews here, a conclusion I don't necessarily see from the film. It is nuanced entertainment, you don't expect anything else from a Steve Martin fare, and it does have its quirky elements. But I'd perhaps call it a murder suspense thriller with wit. Just go with the suspension of disbelief, and enjoy the plot twists as the craziness of the "decay" takes its hold. Recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Now Spit...
Review: NOVOCAINE is one of those films that tries to surprise you with its adventurous cast and off-beat story. However, the only surprise comes from its underachievement. Potentially, this could have been a dark comedy with a taste of Hitchcock. But, with too much Novocain, the story and viewers become numb.

Steve Martin puts in one of his more unambitious performances as a Dentist who inadvertently gets involved in lewd sex, drugs and murder. This begins when he meets the beautiful and quirky Helena Bonham Carter. She seems to phone in her performance. Laura Dern has never looked better as Martin's Dental Assistant and Fiancé, and is given the meatiest role in the film. Her few scenes and an unbilled appearance by Kevin Bacon are the films highest points. But, six degrees away from them, the viewers are left with a film like THE CABLE GUY without cable.

The DVD comes with a nice widescreen transfer and some self-examining making of material and cut scenes. But, the film itself doesn't illicit further scrutiny so the extras might go unwatched.

Rating:
Summary: Comedy noir
Review: Novocaine is the story of Steve Martin playing a dentist who digs himself into a hole of drugs, deceit, and murder, precipitated by a pretty drug dealer (Helena Bonham Carter) who visits his office and talk him into writing her a prescription for demerol. Told from the dentist's point of view, we know he didn't steal the drugs or commit the murder, but suspicion shifts back and forth amongst the other 4 main characters: the druggie, her brother (Caan), the dentist's hygenist/fiance (Dern), and his brother (Koteas). What's great about the movie is that there is no cheating - the eventual outcome is logical, and clues are placed along the way that are consistent with the eventual solution to the mystery. On hindsight, the characters moved towards their fates with a Greek inevitability, but you can't predict the results beforehand. Even though the ultimate solution involves a course of action that dedicated movie/TV viewers have seen before, it's the journey to that inevitable point that interests us.

The performances are good. The screenplay doesn't cheat. The direction is sure, at least in the second half. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to get into the film - perhaps it's because it's not quite what you expect of a Steve Martin movie. The first half is violent and eerie, the second half loosens up and the natural charisma of Carter and Martin starts to show through. It is at that point that you start to care about the characters, which is vital in being drawn into a suspense thriller. Similarly, Martin's natural comedic niche - the smart man who is bewildered by his inability to deal with a situation - is not obvious in the first half of the film, making the direction seem heavy-handed and the suspense seem too thick.

This DVD edition has some short features and a few cut scenes. The video and sound are fine, but no better than a VHS tape. The director's commentary and cut scenes are the highlights, as is usually the case for DVD extras. It's always fun to hear a first-time director's commentary, as is the case here.

Rating:
Summary: Had your teeth cleaned lately?
Review: NOVOCAINE provides a new perspective on the annual dental check-up. Steve Martin plays Dr. Frank Sangster, a successful dentist content with his practice and the love of his oral hygienist, Jean (Laura Dern). Well, maybe he's just a little bored. One day, Frank gains a new patient, the bewitching Susan (Helena Bonham Carter). During an after hours appointment, her smoldering question, "Have you done it in The Chair", causes Doc to use a drill of another sort. Unfortunately, as many men can ruefully corroborate, the failure to keep it zipped under stress has consequences. In Frank's case, they include suspicion of drug dealing and arrest for murder. And what were his teeth marks doing all over the corpse?

NOVOCAINE is somewhat reminiscent of the 1985 film noir AFTER HOURS. In both, the hero finds his life going down the toilet due to bizarre circumstances beyond his control. However, in the former, the plot is darker and the humor has a harder edge. Indeed, NOVOCAINE is often more drama than comedy. Having made his reputation as a comedian, Steve Martin is remarkably deadpan serious in his role as the foil for the, um, more interesting characters that have forced their way into Sangster's life. Scott Caan, regrettably on screen all too briefly, is chillingly menacing as Susan's psycho brother, Duane. Kevin Bacon is excellent as the actor spending time with the police department to absorb local color for an upcoming gig. Carter has the meatiest role as the strung-out and abused, but basically good-hearted, Susan. And Laura Dern, always a Babe worth an ogle, is effective as Frank's understanding girlfriend. Maybe too understanding, come to think of it.

Sangster's solution to his growing list of problems is this quirky film's weirdest touch. It's not something you'd want to try at home when flossing just isn't enough.

Rating:
Summary: Dark comedy is not for all tastes, or Martin fans
Review: Quite simply, if you don't find this line from the film interesting, or funny then you probably won't like this movie. "I've always said that the worst thing that can happen is for you to lose your teethe, unless of course you pull them out yourself." These words are uttered by a dentist, which make them sound less deranged but the rest of the film I just didn't love. This was written and directed by David Atkins and this is not his debut, as Amazon.com states. My main problem with it is the settling the Martin/Laura Dern relationship. It was a so mordantly heartfelt and sincere as well. This wouldn't have been out of place in Todd Solondz film. I also felt that some of the jokes were simply random and inconsequencial to the plot such as the fat couple and the slow car, it felt somewhat like a Woody Allen movie at those instances. My favorite thing about this movie would have to be the fact that dentists get patients fall asleep by watching peaceful foreign films that they(the dentists) enjoy. It's a dark and slightly geeky film that's an aquired taste. I didn't care for it, but it's not without merit.