Movies

To start with, any movie in which Helena Bonham Carter gets naked is a good thing.This is a weird weird movie, but good pacing and casting saves it. A more disciplined director could have turned it into a cult classic. Steve Martin is convincing in a challenging part. He is a fine actor.He brings just enough comedy so the movie doesn't descend into the land that light forgot. This edge gives the film strange believability.Laura Dern is also exquisite walking a fine line to achieve a balance between farce and drama. Her character, blondness and 'hard body' look contrasted effectively with HBC's petite, auburn wickedness.At the end, I wanted to watch it again to appreciate the fine points I missed the first time through.I would describe it as a darker " The Whole Nine Yards".

Steve Martin is believable as a dentist who sees his life spiraling out of control after a series of cascading lies sets him up as a murder suspect. What is not believable is the script, which seems to overlook common sense. Cops that fall asleep while guarding a suspect, and worse yet handcuffing a suspect to a flimsy bench in the court house. After an intriguing set up, everything has less and less logic. The proverbial happy ending is totally unbelievable, as is the supposed motivation for the entire storyline. If you want to see a pretty good Steve Martin performance and can overlook Novocaine's many flaws, it is definitely watchable. - MERK

Steve Martin has great taste and gets some of the best stories in the industry. I don't think he's made a bad movie and this one is stellar. Novocaine is a little along the lines of Spanish Prisoner and reminds me of Memento. The plot was complex, the acting superb, it was well crafted, surprising, and even funny. When it started out I couldn't help but squirm in my chair due to the horrible decisions the dentist was making. Nevertheless, let me assure you that in the end we all went away feeling fully entertained and pleased. The crowd at the advance screening loved it as well. I continue to be impressed with Steve Martin. How many actors or artists can you honestly say that about? What a great show!