Novocaine
Artisan Entertainment | Release Date: November 16, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
45
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
16
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Quite apart from wringing the last molecule of vividness from his freewheeling roster of loose cannons, he brings to his direction of Martin a finesse shared by only a few of the directors who have worked with the comedian-actor.
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Martin's most adventurous film in many years, may be next best thing to a quick shot of nitrous oxide. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A screwball film noir with a lot of medium laughs and a few great big ones, Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
A funny and constantly surprising exercise in comic tension. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJohn Anderson
Martin is marvelous; through sheer charisma, he takes over certain scenes as if no one else is there. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Novocaine is neither funny enough to be a comedy, nor dark enough to be a true film noir. Like the drug of the title, it just kind of leaves you numb and anxious to taste the good stuff once again.
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
One moment it's farcical comedy, the next it's gruesome melodrama. The movie never finds the right tone. Read full review
60
New Times (L.A.)Bill Gallo
Atkins has trouble keeping the tension high and the jokes rolling. Halfway through he begins tripping over the noir genre's dark rules, and in the end he veers off into a haze of romantic redemption that Billy Wilder and Nicholas Ray would have scoffed at. Read full review
60
Film ThreatEllen Marshall
There are a few priceless moments, like Dr. Sangster trying to work on a patient, while removing a hot pink pair of panties from a nearby chair, and the discovery of a stuffed bunny complete with a full set of dentures on his fiance's bed. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
The absurd meets the violent meets the droll, and we just watch from the outside, never having been drawn in by anything resembling believable feelings or behavior.
50
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
The film is weighed down by the decision of director David Atkins to throw too much into the mix. The result is a serious problem of consistency. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Martin seems uncomfortable and oddly waxen (the orange Al Gore makeup doesn't help), injecting Frank with neither restless anger nor wry humor. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
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. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
It's too bad the movie's intriguing effect wears off (so to speak) about two-thirds through. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Nothing is particularly believable here, but there are still a few moments of silly, sinister fun. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
If Novocaine fulfilled the promise of its premise and cast, it could be great. As it is, the film is sabotaged by writer-director David Atkins' failure to set a consistent tone and follow through. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Drowns promising ideas in a sea of missed details and unconvincing motivations. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
There are many things wrong with Novocaine, but the film's most gnawing pain is its clodhopper farfetchedness. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
The mystery is terribly plotted and the satirical elements are limited and not very funny. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
There's a mechanical desire to work in as many outlandish twists as possible, and shallow grotesquerie quickly takes over. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
Given his lackluster performance, even Martin, who is no stranger to sardonic humor, seems unsure about the film's tone. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Starts out stylishly, and promisingly, but then coarsens into a silly parody of film noir.
40
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A Steve Martin vehicle that's not prankish or weird enough by half. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
The result is a performance that is neither funny nor empathetic, and the romance that develops between the dentist and the junkie patient is not strong enough to support the mystery. Read full review
30
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Slack direction fails to touch a nerve. Martin was scarier and funnier extracting Bill Murray's molars without Novocaine in "Little Shop of Horrors." Now that was one crazy dentist. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Spins an unconvincing, miscast noir tale. Read full review
20
Washington PostStephen Hunter
A coarse, witless and stunningly violent black comedy. Read full review
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