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Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
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100% The Kings of Summer May 31
88% The East May 31

Novocaine (2001)

tomatometer

38

Average Rating: 4.7/10
Reviews Counted: 107
Fresh: 41 | Rotten: 66

The quirky Novocaine flirts with both dark comedy and noir suspense, but the result is a jarring mix of tones which never quite mesh.

32

Average Rating: 4.5/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 21

The quirky Novocaine flirts with both dark comedy and noir suspense, but the result is a jarring mix of tones which never quite mesh.

audience

37

liked it
Average Rating: 2.8/5
User Ratings: 7,275

My Rating

Movie Info

In this darkly comic film noir from writer/director David Atkins, Steve Martin revisits dentistry -- an occupation he'd explored 15 years prior, in the camp musical Little Shop of Horrors. Novocaine casts Martin as a much more mild-mannered D.D.S., Dr. Frank Sangster. Engaged to a prim and delicate hygienist, Jean (Laura Dern), Sangster leads a placid, upper-middle class existence, save for the occasional visit from his deadbeat artist brother Harlan (Elias Koteas). But Sangster finds his life

R,

Drama, Comedy

David Atkins

Apr 23, 2002

$1.5M

Artisan Entertainment - Official Site External Icon

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Cast

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All Critics (119) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (66) | DVD (24)

The casting is peculiar, the tone is off, the plot is uninteresting and the ending is sorry.

December 28, 2001 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
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Plays like the sort of silly shared fantasy that a group of dental students might come up with late one night, after too much coffee and cramming for finals.

December 27, 2001
Orlando Sentinel
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This movie was not effective.

November 27, 2001 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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A coarse, witless and stunningly violent black comedy.

November 24, 2001
Washington Post
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Atkins never finds the right tone for Novocaine. It's not dark enough to be either viciously funny or unsettling.

November 20, 2001 Full Review Source: Salon.com
Salon.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

With Bonham Carter's been-there, done-that performance and a plot that spins out of control, we end up with a movie that you can't quite sink your teeth into.

November 16, 2001 Full Review Source: USA Today
USA Today
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This dark, stylish tale isn't for kids.

December 26, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

It is entertaining enough to arouse imagination of post-Tarantino audience.

March 18, 2005 Full Review

Prejudicado por um roteiro previsível e que jamais opta por um gênero claro, o filme traz uma ótima atuação de Steve Martin, que deveria fazer mais filmes "sérios".

May 31, 2003
Cinema em Cena

The film and site offer an offbeat trip, but this is certainly not recommended for anyone who's currently thinking about major dental work.

December 8, 2002 Full Review Source: Film Threat
Film Threat

To say this is black comedy is to understate the case, but the fun parts really are a hoot.

October 21, 2002 Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan
San Diego Metropolitan

While the plot does work in mechanical terms, its multiple ins and outs never achieve more than plodding motion.

October 15, 2002 Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati Enquirer

In a world filled with technically beautiful dogs, every once in awhile it's nice to see a film that bets the bank on great storytelling and a whole lot of soul.

September 13, 2002

Filled with dark, edgy details and atmosphere, but ultimately becomes a very cold enterprise because you simply don't care about any of the characters.

September 9, 2002 Full Review Source: Film Journal International
Film Journal International

Intriguingly straddles genres a bit, but a faint sliver of the film it could have been... [with a] lame, roundly unsatisfying motivation and ending.

August 27, 2002 Full Review Source: Entertainment Today
Entertainment Today

Audience Reviews for Novocaine

This has been a quite entertaining movie. Not really a top notch movie, not really working as a comedy, but still pretty entertaining. It started out veeery slow and boooring - it took a little too long for it to evolve. But when it started to it got better and better. There's that very freaky story and a wrecked Bonham-Carter (she's good playin such characters ;-) adding most to this film. However the ending was a little too fantastic since it shouldn't be a problem for the forensics to ... no, I won't spoil hehe.

My favourite scene was Martin's call where he spoke to that guy who answered the phone with "barbie's bakery. it's mr. muffin man speakin." LOL

My overall rating is: 6.5/10 - if you're not sure what to watch, try this one. It works pretty well as entertainment
September 22, 2007
matertenebraum

Super Reviewer

While I'm not going to say I'd defend this movie to the death, I will say that if you like Steve Martin, you might be willing to see everything he tries. This like, say, The Spanish Prisoner , is something different for Martin, and while it is not an entirely successful movie, it is not unwatchable. Big points to Carter and Laura Dern for enhancing the experience with memorable characters. The ending is a bit much, it's true, but the story of lies compiling and coming back to bite you is told in an unusual, sometimes surprising and sometimes entertaining way.
April 23, 2006
binky013

Super Reviewer

    1. Jean Noble: I've taken care of everybody my whole life, and I am fucking tired! I have organised everything, I have made everything perfect, I made everybody's lives work smoothly and I am tired of being a caretaker CO-DEPENDENT NO MORE! Do you know how hard it is to be perfect? When everybody need you to take care of them? Has anybody ever done that for me? Nobody has ever done that for me, nobody, NOBODY! And you know what? I am tired of everybody else getting all the stuff and me being left out. I wanna be the boss! I wanna be on top! Because I deserve it all! And I'm gonna get it! And if you don't understand that, you really a fucking idiot!
    – Submitted by Sylvester K (4 months ago)
    1. Mike: Barbie's Bakery, it's Mr. Muffin speaking.
    – Submitted by Sylvester K (4 months ago)

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