Novocaine Review: Jack Quaid Shines In This Cute, Gory Action Rom-Com

Action films are like any other genre: in order to get made and make audiences interested, ya gotta have a gimmick. Whether that gimmick is an everyman stuck inside a high-rise building with thieves on Christmas, or a bus that can't go below 50mph, or a man with a particular set of skills, or a grieving widower diving back into a comic book-esque world of assassins to get revenge for his murdered puppy, it stands to reason that the gimmick is what gets noticed first about any given action movie. "Novocaine" has one hell of a gimmick in that regard: its hero is a young man named Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid), who was born with a genetic condition that means he's not able to feel the sensation of pain. Upon hearing about his condition, his love interest, Sherry (Amber Midthunder), excitedly observes that this essentially makes him a superhero, an idea that both Nathan and the film take to heart when Sherry finds herself in mortal danger.

However, one of the pleasant surprises about "Novocaine" is that it completely earns its gimmick. That's something not a lot of recent genre films can lay claim to, as it's become increasingly common for eager-to-please filmmakers and nervous studios to show audiences the goods as soon as possible, forgetting that stuff like spectacle and gimmickry need a strong foundation to truly succeed. Fortunately, "Novocaine" provides that foundation and then some. It sets up its premise and its characters with such care that, by the time mayhem ensues, we've become invested enough to easily buy the more outrageous elements of the film. And rest assured, things do get wild. "Novocaine" is not just an action thriller with a series of gags which outdo some recent horror movies in the violence department. It also has strong threads of film noir and romantic comedy — elements that only serve to make "Novocaine" one of the most well-rounded films in recent memory.

With such an outrageous gimmick waiting in the wings, it's to the filmmakers' credit that "Novocaine" takes its time before punches start flying and bones start breaking. Writer Lars Jacobson introduces Nathan as an Average Joe who, despite his condition, is making his way through life just fine, if unspectacularly. Nathan was born with a real-life (if exceedingly rare) genetic disorder known as CIPA, which stands for Congenital Insensitivity to Pain and Anhidrosis, and it's something that affects his every waking moment, causing him to do things like avoid solid foods (in order to ensure he doesn't accidentally bite his own tongue off) and set a watch timer to use the bathroom (so that his bladder doesn't explode).

Yet neither directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen nor Quaid use all this as an excuse to make jokes at Nathan's expense. If anything, they only make him more sympathetic, even when it's revealed that Caine barely has any life outside of his job as an assistant manager at a bank in San Diego, with his only friend being Roscoe (Jacob Batalon), a guy he's never met that plays video games with him online. As someone who lives with several autoimmune conditions that allow me to "pass" in social circles as an average dude but who can't participate in everything normal folks can (like drinking alcohol), I was moved by the way "Novocaine" treats Nathan and his condition with respect.

That respect extends to Caine's budding romance with the cute new bank teller, Sherry, who slowly begins to bring Nathan out of his shell one fateful day (and night). Quaid and Midthunder have a lovely, easy chemistry together, and the way I knew "Novocaine" was working lies in the fact that I would've been happy just to continue watching them fall in love. Although Nathan and Sherry are the two characters in the film with the most depth, Berk & Olsen and Jacobson keep everyone else as human as possible, especially Simon (Ray Nicholson), the criminal behind the robbery of Nathan's bank and kidnapper of Sherry, and detectives Mincy (Betty Gabriel) and Coltrane (Matt Walsh). The film goes out of its way to give all of them identities beyond their archetypal roles.

Of course, the highlight of "Novocaine" is how Caine, not being able to let Sherry's kidnapping happen right before his eyes, gives chase to the bad guys and finds himself forced into life-or-death confrontations with each of them one at a time. Here's where one might reasonably expect the heretofore grounded movie to go off the rails, with Caine bravely throwing himself into harms way as he heroically struggles to rescue Sherry. Fortunately, Berk, Olsen, and Quaid retain Caine's humanity (and the film's roots in reality) by making these fight sequences more about an endurance test for Caine and his opponent rather than another "John Wick"-esque showcase. 

Stunt coordinator Kerry Gregg arranges the fights so that Caine the shut-in isn't suddenly a master of kung-fu, and Quaid sells the hell out of a guy who's out of his depth but is so motivated by the power of love that he just keeps barreling forward. There's a stand-out sequence early on in the film where Caine is fighting a thief in a restaurant's kitchen, and the way he manages to use his environment and dangerous objects around him in order to credibly take down a man twice his size is reminiscent of classic Jackie Chan movies (if Chan weren't the coordinated physical marvel that he is, of course). The rest of the film's fight sequences are similarly clever in their conception, with none of them going past the point of credibility (save one specific element — more on that in a moment).

While it's great to see Gabriel exude empathy, Walsh apathy, Batalon goofiness, and Midthunder strength (someone needs to let this woman carry another film, stat), "Novocaine" is Quaid's film, and he steps up to the plate with aplomb. Quaid's on-screen career has so far been littered with incisive and chilling portrayals of the so-called "nice guy" who's anything but; his turns in 2022's "Scream" and this January's "Companion" perfectly encapsulate toxic masculinity. That's why it's so refreshing to see him flex a different muscle here, tweaking his affability toward something much healthier and admirable. Yet Quaid's natural smarm also allows him to make a perfect punching bag hero, and makes Caine's gradual physical deterioration equal parts "Die Hard" and film noir.

Just as Quaid and Midthunder lend the film a winning rom-com vibe, so does Quaid's casting help bring out the inherent noir qualities of "Novocaine," where Sherry is both damsel in distress and a femme fatale goddess, and Caine is both macho action hero and noir patsy. Caine's mortal plight in the name of romance feels (perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not) reminiscent of 1988's remake of "D.O.A.," which starred his parents Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. Since "Novocaine" is, in a meta fashion, a bit of a Battle of the Nepo Babies with Quaid vs. Nicholson, Berk & Olsen are smart to lean into it.

While the grounded tone and characters of "Novocaine" will help the film linger in the mind and heart longer than the average action thriller, it's the violence in the movie that will have people talking as they leave the theater. Were it not for Osgood Perkins' "The Monkey," I'd be able to call "Novocaine" the most violent movie of 2025 so far, because Berk & Olsen absolutely go for it when it comes to devising gags with which to either dispatch baddies or impede Caine (often both at the same time). Sure, many of these gags stretch the credibility of the film — even a man with CIPA would start to reel from the effects of so many body blows and the like after a while — but it's the area in which the movie takes the most creative license, and winningly so. Berk & Olsen, whose filmography up to this point has consisted of horror films like "Villains" and "Significant Other," bring a horror sensibility to many of these gags, and as such they know the value of holding their camera just long enough on a wound or an impalement to get the maximum effect. There's enough horror present in the gags in "Novocaine" that I'd expect the previous record holder for adding horror elements to action films, Renny Harlin, might be a bit jealous.

"Novocaine" isn't flawless, by any means. Its pacing sags in the middle a bit, and its tonal dance between grounded realism and heightened genre starts to chafe during the final confrontations. The film also belongs to the subgenre of the Christmas action movie, though seemingly on a technicality; despite bank robbers in Santa Claus suits and a festive tie of Caine's, you'd be forgiven for forgetting the film takes place during the holidays. None of those blemishes sink the movie, though, because ultimately, "Novocaine" is a delightful and surprisingly relatable hoot. If too many over-stylized, gleefully immature action movies have been a particular pain in your ass lately, then consider "Novocaine" your analgesic.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10

"Novocaine" opens in theaters on March 14, 2025.