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DVD Novocaine
A screwball noir comedy that marks a promising directorial debut by first-timer David Atkins, Novocaine has a knack for the offbeat, beginning with the casting of Steve Martin as Frank, a dentist who traps himself in an escalating series of secrets and lies. Frank likens his dilemma to the insidious rot of tooth decay, personified by quirky drug addict Susan (Helena Bonham Carter), who enters his office, steals his narcotics, and draws him into an unexpected flirtation with disaster. Frank's brother (Elias Koteas) complicates matters almost as much as Susan's psycho brother (Scott Caan), but it's Frank's fiancée and hygienist (Laura Dern) who shotguns the movie to its outrageous and gruesomely off-putting conclusion. Erratic in tone and briefly amusing, Novocaine offers a few surprises (including an unbilled appearance by Kevin Bacon), but the movie never really finds its groove, and its curiously numbing effect makes the title just a bit too apropos. --Jeff Shannon
The Over The Top Life and Times of A Dentist In Love
Novocaine is a film that promised so much given the talented actors attached to it,Steve Martin, Helena Bonham-Carter and Laura Dern and delivered so little. The main problem of course lies squarely with a very weak and over the top script that tried so hard to explore the comedy and thriller with a twist genres, but was clearly lost between the two. Black Comedy is a very peculiar genre,and the term can be quite misleading.Genuine black comedy films are very few and far between, for it takes quite a special talent to write hidden,subtle and ironic humour. Also,the problem with Novocaine lies with a very mediocre direction from first timer David Atkins, who annoyed the 'fillings' out of me with his numerous x-rays cuts. The whole plot just does not make any sense, A dentist (Martin) with a loyal fiance(Dern),suddenly,at the very first sight and without any plausible explanations falls head over heels for this mysterious patient(Bonham-Carter)and begins an involvement that nearly destroys his life,(one that includes a couple of love scenes,and a topless miss Bonham-Carter!) See,I know that she is an excellent actress,one of the best Brit exports to American cinema and she has a vulnerable and classic beauty, but not the sensuality, sexiness and allure that drove Dudley Moore mad for Bo Derek in Ten.So,in my opinion,Martin instant infatuation with her character was not believable. Yet this infatuation leads Martin to all sort of trouble: stolen drugs, Bonham-Carter's over the top psycho brother(a good Scott Caan)whom the writer again for no reason at all decided that he will be having an incestious relationship with his sister, (??!!!!), and Martin's own brother, whose role was so weakly written as to render him redundant(a waste of time and talent for Elias Kotias).. Of course nothing is what it seems, and by the time the film gets to the part when things might become more interesting,I lost interest altogether, and called my dentist for an appointment! Admittedly, dentists have had a very bad PR with Marathon Man,and it did to them what Jaws did to Great Whites and swimming.Novocaine will not improve the image of dentists, but for quite different and boring reasons.
Speaking from a dental perspective...
I am a dental hygienist, although not nearly as obsessive-compulsive and crazy as Laura Dern's Jean Noble. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this film!
A local oral surgeon sponsored a private screening for local dentists and their staff members. In other words, the theater was packed with dental professionals. We had a ball! It played very well to our audience, as the movie was technically very good (dentally speaking). Other dental-type movies have left a lot to be desired in that category!
The movie was indeed a comedy, allbeit a dark comedy. It's the kind of humor where you laugh, but with your hand over your mouth to cover up the fact that your humor is a bit deranged. Although, perhaps I am speaking for myself.
Laura Dern, Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter, and Kevin Bacon all turn in super performances. It was a fun ride, and the who-done-it guessing game was much fun!
I recommend this movie, especially to the dental community or anyone who is not squeamish!
Interesting Movie, but Not Quite as Advertised
This film is one of those cross-genre movies that must drive marketing people nuts. Part murder mystery, part erotic suspense thriller, part black comedy, the marketing people took one look at this, saw Steve Martin, and called it comedic. Really, it's more ironic than comedic. The situations in which people find themselves, from Laura Dern's OCD fiancee to Steve Martin's repressed dentist caught up in a spiraling web of deceit are definitely not funny in the traditional sense, and I am sure that is what put many people off about the film.
Despite the unsavory elements of the story and only average acting from otherwise good actors, the story holds the audience's interest, subtlely foreshadowing the climax, which unfortunately "pays off" all too quickly after the amount of work that goes into setting it up.
This, plus the aforementioned average acting and dark storyline are the primary reasons that this movie is usually found in the bargain bin. Still, Helena Bonham Carter is definitely worth watching as a drug addict, abused by her incestuous brother. Some of the character's dress and actions are vaguely reminiscent of her portrayal of Marla Singer in Fight Club, and she remains sufficiently tortured throughout the film to add a slightly deeper layer to the film.
Not for the squeamish (or dentist averse), the film has an ironic but "happy" ending that leaves the viewer a bit unsettled, mainly because it ends a little too cleanly. Not Steve Martin's best work, by far, but certainly an amusing diversion.
In terms of alluring female nudity, Swimming Pool shows a lot, but it's what remains concealed that gives this erotic thriller a potent, voyeuristic charge. With his Hitchcockian handling of secrets and lies, prolific French director François Ozon reunites with his Under the Sand star, Charlotte Rampling, to tell a seductive tale of murder and complicity, beginning when British mystery novelist Sarah Morton (Rampling) seeks peace and relaxation at her publisher's French villa, only to find his brash, sexually liberated daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) arriving shortly thereafter to disrupt her solitary reverie. What begins as mutual annoyance turns into something more sinister and duplicitous, alternating between Julie's predatory sex with men and Sarah's observant,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Charlotte Rampling - Ludivine Sagnier - Charles Dance Director(s): François Ozon DVD Release Date: Released the 23 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Based on Susanna Moore's popular novel, In the Cut centers on Frannie (Meg Ryan), an emotionally stifled English teacher who gets steamy with sultry Malloy (Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count On Me), a cop who's investigating a series of brutal murders--but Frannie soon suspects that Malloy may be the killer. As a psychological thriller, In the Cut is heavier on psychology than thrills; the story is a skeleton that director Jane Campion (The Piano, An Angel at My Table) cloaks in one of the most nightmarish visions of urban life since Taxi Driver or Seven, accompanied by lots of explicit sex. The movie's dark tone will put some viewers off, but Ruffalo's effortless magnetism serves him well; no woman in the audience will question how quickly Ryan... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jennifer Jason Leigh - Meg Ryan - Mark Ruffalo Director(s): Jane Campion DVD Release Date: Released the 10 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Steve Martin wrote this film as a meditation on both love and Los Angeles (and then-wife Victoria Tennant). He plays a L.A. TV weatherman who finds himself conflicted about what to do with his life, both professionally and personally. As he works his way through a couple of relationships (including a very funny one with a frisky Sarah Jessica Parker, who talks him into colonic therapy), he discovers a L.A. freeway sign that gives him romantic advice. It helps him realize what he knows intuitively: that the British woman he is attracted to (Tennant) is the one he should pursue. A big cast (and lots of cameos) have fun with this witty (if slight) material and director Mick Jackson adds visual pizzazz. --Marshall FineMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Steve Martin - Victoria Tennant - Richard E. Grant - Sarah Jessica Parker Director(s): Mick Jackson DVD Release Date: Released the 20 March 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The premise of this swinging Vegas picture is enough to carry it over its narrative rough spots. The unluckiest sap on the planet (William H. Macy) is employed as a "cooler" at a casino; his very presence can chill the hot streak of any patron on a roll. He's valued by the old-school manager of the place, a role given a two-fisted, bourbon-swilling incarnation by Alec Baldwin. Macy means to quit, but then he falls for a waitress (the excellent Maria Bello, from Permanent Midnight)--might his luck be changing? The subplots are pretty much a mess, but the frank sex scenes between Macy and Bello give the movie a truly offbeat feel. The tawdry air of a second-rate casino is also nicely done: This is not the new family-friendly Las Vegas, but a tough place of superstitions, sinister... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): William H. Macy - Alec Baldwin - Maria Bello Director(s): Wayne Kramer DVD Release Date: Released the 27 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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A Simple Twist of Fate, Steve Martin's second adaptation of a classic (after his Roxanne-ization of Cyrano de Bergerac), is a melancholy, dramatic comedy about a recluse coming out of his shell. Suggested by George Eliot's Silas Marner, this isn't a cutesy picture akin to Father of the Bride. It's much more heartfelt, gentle, and satisfying, as long as you accept its traditional and predictable conclusions. Scorned by life, Michael McCann (Martin) lives in an auburn-tinted town and goes on with his colorless life. That is, until an abandoned child is left on his doorstep, and he adopts her. A custody battle ensues years later with far too many cheap, unconvincing courtroom dramatics in which money is the root of all evil, but the tone and wholesomeness... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Steve Martin Director(s): Gillies MacKinnon DVD Release Date: Released the 06 May 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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