Cute, quick Quaid weaponizes a handicap in ridiculously violent, quirky action comedy ‘Novocaine’
“Novocaine” — 3 stars
An open letter to the marketing geniuses at Paramount Pictures:
What were you guys thinking?
Your studio-approved red band trailer (it’s R-rated) reveals nearly all of the coolest and cruelest moments in Jack Quaid’s quirky, perky action comedy “Novocaine.”
Why?
Why would you murder the movie’s many gleefully sadistic surprises by spoiling the best laughs and shocks in your commercials and trailers?
Did you ever think about providing a rewarding moviegoing experience for audiences to discover a few things on their own?
Well?
No response?
I’m not surprised. Nobody else will be, either, all because of your buzz-kill trailer.
For the record, I saw “Novocaine” knowing only one thing: Quaid plays a man who can’t feel pain. And my ignorance turned out to be a blisteringly blissful experience.
I laughed. I teared up. I shrieked! I gasped!
The cheerfully violent, stunt-stuffed “Novocaine” sets its entertainment sights fairly low, then wildly exceeds them for most of its brisk and bloody running time.
Jack Quaid (son of Hollywood icons Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid) plays Nathan Caine, an unassuming assistant manager at the San Diego Trust Credit Union.
Nice guy. Quiet. Keeps to himself. Kinda cute, but socially awkward.
He pines for the attention of a co-worker, the lovely Sherry (Amber Midthunder), but never makes a move. So, she does.
They go out. He explains he suffers from a condition that has rendered him unable to feel physical pain. (Oh, so that’s why all the sharp objects around him have been covered by padded material and why he didn’t react when she scalded his hand by spilling superhot coffee.)
“You’re a superhero!” she blurts.
They share a delightful, playfully sexy night together. Nathan falls for her. Hard.
The next day at the credit union, three guys in Santa Claus outfits bust through the front door.
(Did I mention that this movie takes place at Christmas like “Die Hard”?)
The bad guys brandish automatic weapons. Kill the store manager. And take Sherry hostage when the cops show up.
Nathan suddenly springs into Bruce Willis mode. He recovers a dropped pistol, steals a squad car and sets out to save his newfound love.
“Oh my god, what am I doing?” he screeches. Well, for one thing, embarking on an insane, obsessive mission to save his love interest, turning a handicap — his inability to feel pain — into his most valuable asset.
Mismatched San Diego police detectives Mincy (Betty Gabriel) and Coltrane (Matt Walsh) are on the case, presuming that Nathan must be in on the robbery. Coltrane seems inconvenienced. Mincy senses this twist of events doesn’t add up.
Not all of this ridiculously violent comedy works well, but co-directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen keep the pace frenetic, the characters stock, the kills quality and the abuse of Nathan’s battered, stabbed, impaled, shot, arrowed, fried and crushed body sadistically funny, something like Wile E. Coyote in an R-rated Roadrunner cartoon.
A minimalistic screenplay by Lars Jacobson cleverly gives Nathan Jackie Chan’s ability to weaponize ordinary objects around him. An arrow through the leg would normally cripple someone, but resourceful Nathan repurposes it to save his life. He doesn’t just roll with the punches, he rocks with the body slams.
Jacques Jouffret’s caffeinated camera lens demonstrates a few fast moves of its own, utilizing bold, cinematic gymnastics to provide visceral punch and panache to tight fight scenes.
Ultimately, the success of “Novocaine” rests on Quaid’s comic charm, sly killer smile and awkward, underdog physicality.
The actor, mostly known for playing vigilante Hughie Campbell in the Amazon Prime series “The Boys” (and a minor role in “The Hunger Games”) carries “Novocaine” without dominating it.
“You gotta be careful, dude!” says Roscoe (Jacob Batalon), Nathan’s online video game pal and de facto sidekick. “You’re not Wolverine!”
Actually, he kinda is.
• • •
Starring: Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel
Directed by: Dan Berk and Robert Olsen
Other: A Paramount Pictures theatrical release. Rated R for language, violence. 110 minutes.