'Novocaine' Review Thread

I will continue to update this post as reviews come in.

Rotten Tomatoes: Certified Fresh

Critics Consensus: Getting an adrenaline shot from Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder's considerable charm while finding increasingly demented ways to utilize its concept, Novocaine is the opposite of a pain to watch.

Metacritic: 59 (32 Reviews)

Sample Reviews:

Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter - Novocaine, which amusingly employs REM’s “Everybody Hurts” to accompany the opening credits, would probably have eventually worn out its welcome (it still feels overlong at 110 minutes) were it not for Quaid’s terrific performance.

William Bibbiani, TheWrap - Jack Quaid was born for a role like this. The actor’s unassuming cheerfulness provides the perfect comedic counterpoint to the film’s increasingly absurd gross-out action gags.

Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press - On the heels of some bad action comedies... “Novocaine” is pretty enjoyable. 2.5/4

Rafer Guzman, Newsday - Quaid makes for a lovable numskull — literally — in this spiffy, splattery action-comedy. 3/4

Jen Yamato, Washington Post - Novocaine lives up to its name, all right — a tedious action-comedy so numbingly bland, you feel the pain of its 110-minute run time even as its protagonist can’t feel a thing. 1.5/4

G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle - “Novocaine” isn’t exactly painless to sit through. 2/4

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune - By the end of “Novocaine,” it’s as if the filmmakers forgot how their movie started. 2/4

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic - Half of what the characters do doesn’t make sense, the other half is implausible or downright impossible. But it is fun. A lot of fun. (And funny, thanks to Jack Quaid’s go-for-broke performance.) 3.5/5

Benjamin Lee, Guardian - After exhausting its elevator pitch premise, the script, from Lars Jacobson, doesn’t have much more to offer. 2/5

Kate Erbland, indieWire - Jacobson’s script and Berk and Olsen’s direction soon offer a batshit U-turn that dilutes this idea in myriad disappointing ways... “Novocaine” doesn’t need to make anyone this numb, not after start with a real (sorry) shot to the arm. C+

Matt Schimkowitz, AV Club - Quaid, whose dopey face makes for a solid stress ball, keeps things moving even as he’s deprived of reactions to the heightened scenario around him. C+

Nick Schager, The Daily Beast - In trying to have it both ways, it succeeds in neither, in the process stranding its charming leading man in a saga that needed to be either goofier or more gruesome.

Rocco T. Thompson, Slant Magazine - The film takes action-movie invulnerability to brutal comic extremes. 2.5/4

Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict - Films like this work only when all bets are off; anything less than gonzo insanity won’t do justice to the nutty premise. Directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen clearly aspire to that level of outrageousness without ever fully committing.

Matt Singer, ScreenCrush - Belongs to the tradition of movies like Evil Dead II and Crank, where the audience is invited to derive twisted pleasure from watching a heroic leading man get the crap beaten out of him in inventive ways. 6/10

Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting - Berk and Olsen elevate a simple setup with their genre sensibilities, resulting in an action-splatstick hybrid that brings the pain to absurdly violent, entertaining highs. 4/5

SYNOPSIS:

When the girl of his dreams (Amber Midthunder) is kidnapped, everyman Nate (Jack Quaid) turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength in his fight to get her back.

CAST:

• Jack Quaid as Nathan Caine
• Amber Midthunder as Sherry
• Ray Nicholson as Simon
• Jacob Batalon as Roscoe
• Betty Gabriel as Mincy
• Matt Walsh as Coltraine

DIRECTED BY: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen

WRITTEN BY: Lars Jacobson

PRODUCED BY: Adam Friedlander, Joby Harold, Julian Rosenberg, Drew Simon, Tory Tunnell

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Josh Adler, Paul Barbeau, Lars Jacobson, Matt Schwartz, Sam Speiser

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Jacques Jouffret

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Kara Lindstrom

EDITED BY: Christian Wagner

MUSIC BY: Lorne Balfe, Andrew Kawczynski

CASTING BY: Bonnie Lee Bouman, Ronna Kress

RUNTIME: 110 Minutes

RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2025