110 min | R | March 14, 2025 | Paramount Pictures
Jack Quaid plays a bank employee who can’t feel pain and has to rescue his kidnapped coworker. The premise is better than the execution but Quaid sells it completely.
Action comedies about ordinary people thrust into extraordinary violence are hard to calibrate. Too much comedy and the stakes evaporate. Too much action and the humor feels forced. Novocaine lands somewhere in the middle. The premise is strong. A man with congenital insensitivity to pain becomes an unlikely action hero when his love interest gets kidnapped by bank robbers. The film understands the concept is inherently absurd and plays it mostly straight.
Jack Quaid plays Nathan Caine with genuine commitment to the physical comedy and the emotional stakes. He takes a beating and keeps moving. The inability to feel pain is not depicted as a superpower. It’s a medical condition that makes him dangerous to himself and useful in a crisis. Amber Midthunder plays the kidnapped coworker and brings more depth to the role than the script provides. The chemistry between them is solid. The supporting cast does functional work without elevating the material.
Dan Berk and Robert Olsen direct with energy but not much invention. The action sequences are clear and competently staged. The comedy lands more often than it misses. The script by Lars Jacobson hits the expected beats without finding anything surprising. The film borrows heavily from better action comedies and never quite escapes their shadow.
The film works as disposable entertainment. Quaid is a genuine movie star and this gives him space to prove it. The premise deserves a sharper script and more inventive direction. What’s here is competent and occasionally fun. That’s enough for some movies. Not for this one.