Movie Review: Novocaine

It was only a matter of time before Jack Quaid was handed the keys to his own movie. Whether it's being weaponized or embraced for a given role, the 32-year-old whose best known for playing Hughie Campbell on Prime Video's The Boys brings an easygoing charm to the screen that is perfectly suited for the top of the call sheet. R-rated romantic action-comedy Novocaine provides Quaid with the ideal vehicle to flourish in his first lead role in a movie. 

Quaid plays Nathan Caine, an average guy working as an assistant bank manager in San Diego. Caine has spent nearly his entire life as a solitary man on account of having a rare disease called CIPA (Congenial Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis) that prevents him from feeling pain, which made him an easy target for bullies and slowly eroded his relationship with his parents. His isolated life is challenged when fate comes along and puts him in the path of his co-worker Sherry (Amber Midthunder). The two go on an impromptu date at a diner and have an instant connection. Despite only spending a brief amount of time in Sherry's presence, Caine feels like he's not alone for the first time in his life. Caine and Sherry's blossoming relationship hits an unexpected snag the very next day when their bank is robbed, and she's taken hostage by the group's psychotic leader Simon (Ray Nicholson). Going against every instinct in his body, Caine sets out to track down and rescue Sherry himself, which puts him on a collision course with a gang of violent criminals and pair of police detectives (Betty Gabriel, Matt Walsh) that believe he is a suspect in the robbery. 

Novocaine has a clear, simple set of goals and it accomplishes nearly all of them with ease. The energetic, wince-inducing fight scenes do a great job of incorporating Caine's condition into the action, directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (Villains, Significant Other) provide a nimbleness to the proceedings that makes the whole movie fly by and as I alluded to above, Quaid's effortless likability makes Caine an unlikely hero that's worth rooting for. The romantic elements of the story aren't quite as successful-mostly because the chemistry between Quaid and Midthunder isn't strong enough to make the whirlwind nature of their relationship convincing, but it does at least eventually end up in a sincerely sweet place that covers up some of its inability to sell the instant overwhelming connection between Caine and Sherry. In terms of pure fun on the big screen, you sure as hell could do much worse than this, especially during a late winter/early spring period that's been surprisingly light on this particular brand of good time at the movies.              

Grade: B