REVIEW: Jack Quaid Leads The Painfully Funny New Action Comedy, Novocaine

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis (or CIPA) is a rare genetic disorder, where a person can’t feel pain or temperature. A disorder such as this, can lead to severe injuries with the person having no knowledge just how bad the injury is. Dangerous, right? Well in Paramount Pictures new R-rated action comedy, Novocaine, screenwriter Lars Jacobson spins this disorder on its head, where instead of the disorder being a danger to the person, the person with the disorder is now considered the danger.

Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, Novocaine follows San Diego assistant bank manager, Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid), who suffers from this disease. He has spent his entire life protecting himself from himself. His home is baby proofed to prevent unknown injuries from occurring, like covering the corners of his furniture with tennis balls, and he eats his meals through a straw to prevent himself from biting his tongue off.  However, Nathan is ready to throw his protective bubble aside when his co-worker Sherry (Amber Midthunder) asks him out on a date. With love now in the air, Nathan has a new look on life, until bank robbers show up, rob the bank, and take Sherry hostage. Knowing that most hostages who aren’t found in the first three hours end up dead, he takes matter into his own hands to find the woman him love. With his CIPA on his side, Nathan throws caution to the wind and goes on a wild and dangerous race to find Sherry and bring her home.

Novocaine is exactly what you expect from an action comedy that stars Jack Quaid, insane and highly entertaining. The story, which might be ridiculous, feels real. Berk and Olsen, along with Jacobson, don’t try and spin Quaid’s character into some Bond type superhero, who knows his way around a fight. Nathan is a lanky run of the mill man, who is in way over his head, and most likely would have died within the first five minutes of his journey without his disorder. Nathan is very much aware of this fact, as is the audience, which makes for quite an enjoyable time. Though a little gory at parts, nothing seems too over the top. The creative team has done a nice job blending the gore and the action, so it helps tell the story rather than take the audience out of the story.

Quaid is the perfect actor to bring Nathan to life. His performance showcases Nathan’s journey from awkward assistant bank manager, who lets his disorder dictate his life, to semi-confident assistant bank manager, who won’t let his disorder define him. Midthunder is fun as Sherry, but the material doesn’t really let her shine until later in the film. Jacob Batalon steps in as Nathan’s online friend, Roscoe, who becomes an unwilling sidekick. Batalon is such a joy to watch, and once again, displays his comedic chops perfectly. Quaid and Batalon are fantastic alongside one another.

Novocaine isn’t going to be for everyone, and it won’t win any awards. But for less that two hours, the audience laughed and cringed as Quaid is taken to the cleaners, in a fun and interning ride. If you are looking for something fun to watch this weekend, I highly recommend giving this movie a go.

Grade: B