Novocaine
A meek bank manager who cannot feel pain tries to rescue his kidnapped new love in Novocaine. Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) is an assistant bank manager who lives a sheltered life, due to his congenital insensitivity to pain. Things begin to look up for Nathan when he is asked out by his co-worker Sherry (Amber Midthunder). However, a trio of bank robbers led by the psychotic Simon (Ray Nicholson) rob the bank and kidnap Sherry during their escape. Nathan desperately trackers down the robbers, with the help of his gamer friend Roscoe (Jacob Batalon), while being tracked down by police detectives Mincy (Betty Gabriel) and Coltraine (Matt Walsh).
Novocaine Synopsis
Novacaine is an action-comedy directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (Stake Land II: The Stakelander, Villains). The film stars Jack Quaid (The Boys, Scream, Companion) as assistant bank manager Nathan Caine, nicknamed “Novocaine” by bullies, due to Nathan having a rare genetic condition that makes him unable to feel any pain. The condition results in Nathan having a quite sheltered existence, but things start looking up when he gets to know his co-worker Sherry, played by Amber Midthunder (Prey).
However, the day after Nathan and Amber share a connection on their first date, the latter is taken hostage by three Santa-dressed bank robbers. Desperate to get Amber back, Nathan resorts to vigilantism and heads off in pursuit of the bank robbers, with his inability to feel pain turning into a major asset. With the police on his tail, Nathan is determined to rescue Amber at all costs or die trying.
My Thoughts on Novocaine
Ever since his breakthrough role on the TV series The Boys, Jack Quaid has become known for playing seemingly meek and dweeby characters, who find themselves in crazy and violent situations. While this is bordering on typecasting, Quaid seems to be enjoying this phase of this career. Novacaine is a twist of a premise that has previously been done in many forms, including the two Crank films, the first-person action film Hardcore Henry, and the 2018 Indian film The Man Who Feels No Pain.
Even though Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP) is an actual rare genetic disorder, Novocaine still requires checking the brain at the door and having a level of suspension of disbelief. Nathan Caine is unable to feel pain, but he is not invincible, yet some of the injuries he receives in the film could kill an average human being. In some ways, this makes Novocaine an ultra-violent slapstick comedy, right down to a Home Alone-like sequence in a booby-trapped home.
Best known for her lead role in the colonial Predator film Prey, Amber Midthunder gives an unrecognizably different performance as the love interest Sherry in Novacaine. Without delving too much into spoilers, Sherry ends up being more than just a damsel in distress. Then there’s Ray Nicholson (Smile 2, Licorice Pizza, Promising Young Woman), the son of Jack Nicholson, who gives an very unhinged performance as the main antagonist Simon. Rounding out the cast is Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: No Way Home) as Nathan’s online gamer friend, and reluctant helper, Roscoe.
Ultimately, Novocaine ends up being an incredibly entertaining mix of ultra-violence and comedy. Some of the latter injuries afflicted to Nathan Caine in the film are truly shocking, yet the way Jack Quaid non-chalently shrugs it off makes it incredibly hilarious. Not surprisingly, this includes at least one reference to X-Men‘s Wolverine.
Trailer for Novocaine
