Novocaine (2001)

Director:

David Atkins

Writers (WGA):

Paul Felopulos (story) &
David Atkins (story) ...

Release Date:

23 November 2001 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Crime Is Not Only Done By Criminals.

Plot:

A dentist finds himself a murder suspect after a sexy patient seduces him into prescribing her drugs.

Plot Keywords:

Dentist | Murder | Implied Incest | Drugged Brother | Blood Looking Paint

Cast

Chelcie Ross	...	Mike
Steve Martin	...	Frank Sangster
Laura Dern	...	Jean Noble
Lynne Thigpen	...	Pat
Polly Noonan	...	Sally
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Susan
JoBe Cerny	...	Pharmacist Wayne Ponze
Elias Koteas	...	Harlan Sangster
Yasen Peyankov	...	'Sunshine Lounge' Bartender
Scott Caan	...	Duane
Teri Cotruzzola	...	Attractive Complaining Patient
Lucina Paquet	...	Mrs. Langston
Preston Maybank	...	Gelding
Sally Kao	...	Chinese Wife
Quincy Wong	...	Chinese Husband

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexuality, language and drug content.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG (theatrical release) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Peru:14 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R (MPAA #37950) | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Cedarburg, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

Artisan Entertainment

Trivia:

Steve Martin and Scott Caan did not get along during filming due to Caan's reckless behavior toward a stunt person in a scene in which his character smashes a beer bottle over the head of a man in a bar.

Goofs:

Continuity: Bruise on Frank's left cheek changes notably between scenes,

Quotes:

Lance Phelps: There's no way that you did it.
Frank: Yeah, I didn't.
Lance Phelps: Yeah, of course not. Because... it's way too obvious. The audience would never believe it.
Frank: What audience?
Lance Phelps: You know. You know. Like if this was a movie.
Frank: This is not a movie, Lance. This is real life.
Lance Phelps: I know that. But do they know that?
Frank: Who?
Lance Phelps: You know. The audience.

Movie Connections:

References The Hard Way (1991)

Soundtrack:

The Ice Skater

Good performance....seriously flawed film.....

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