Novocaine
Starring: Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter, Laura Dern, Elias Koteas, Scott Caan, Kevin Bacon (unbilled)
Directed by: David Atkins III
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2001
Times Seen:
Tim: 2
Summary: A dentist's (Steve Martin) life is turned upside down after he has an affair with a drug addict (Helena Bonham Carter), who then steals a large quantity of novocaine. As the police investigate, complications arise and lives are threatened.
Review:
Tim: I always like to point out that I really don't like Steve Martin all that much. I don't find him particularly funny at all. Throughout his career, he's played in some horrible roles that he simply should have passed on. I don't particularly like him in this film, but I have to admit that he makes a pretty realistic dentist. I can definitely see him in this role.
I also like the scene in the movie where Martin compares lying to tooth decay. It's insightful, and a good lesson for everyone to learn. However, thats where my praise ends and my criticism begins. Once again, Martin is in a film with no likeable characters. This is almost always a bad choice. You have to like SOMEONE in a movie, but Novocaine is void of any good characters at all.
The cast is decent all around, but by far the best role in the movie is the unbilled role of Kevin Bacon! I love this guy. Unfortunately for him, he picked to be in a not very good movie. Steer clear of Steve Martin, Kev!!
Ok, ok. Due to my own conscience, I will have to admit that Martin does give a decent and somewhat dark performance here. I definitely perfer this to some of his stupider roles (Bringing Down the House for example). The film also does have a huge surprise twist at the end, which is always fun. However, despite a few bright spots, this film is ultimately not very good at all. I'd honestly rather go in for a root canal than watch this movie again.
Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5
If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Bringing Down the House, The Out-of-Towners, Cheaper by the Dozen, Footloose, Jurassic Park