Novocaine (2025)
8/10
There are nepo babies, and there are nepo babies. It might seem unfair to start a review of Novocaine, a fun and clever action movie with inventive set pieces and good performances, on that note. But it’s inescapable that the main hero and villain are both portrayed by actors with famous Hollywood parents—and just as crucial to point out that they’re both great here and I was happy to see them onscreen.
Jack Quaid, who plays our hero Nathan Caine, is the son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. Ray Nicholson, who portrays villain Simon Greenly, is the son of Jack Nicholson. I like both in everything I’ve seen them in. The best response to the “nepo baby” tag, as Jack Quaid has shown, is simply to acknowledge that one’s family background gave them certain advantages in their career. In my experience, actors who are the most defensive about being called nepo babies are those most lacking confidence in their own talent. Quaid, by comparison, said in an interview:
No matter what I do, people are going to call attention to it. People have called me a “nepo baby.” I’m inclined to agree. I am an immensely privileged person, was able to get representation pretty early on, and that’s more than half the battle. […] I don’t think [being a nepo baby] undermines my talent. I know that I work hard, and I know I’ve heard “no” way more than I’ve heard “yes.” But I also know that this industry is insanely hard to break into, and I had an easier time doing that than most. Both things can be true.
That’s the response you want to hear. Now on to the movie.
Novocaine has one of the catchiest taglines I’ve heard for a movie in some time. The words on the poster sound downright poetic: “Meet Nathan Caine. He can’t feel pain. Jack Quaid. Novocaine.” Our protagonist Nathan is an assistant bank manager who suffers from congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, a genetic disorder that prevents him from feeling pain. Introverted and inexperienced with women due to his condition, Nathan develops a romantic relationship with co-worker Sherry Margrave (Amber Midthunder). When a group of armed robbers led by Simon storm the bank and take Sherry hostage, Nathan attempts to track her down and rescue her.
As Nathan, Quaid gives a performance similar to his work as Hughie Campbell on The Boys—no surprise since both characters have mild-mannered personalities. Nevertheless, there are unique shades to distinguish Nathan, who is more reserved and cautious than Hughie due to his condition. Quaid makes for a likable hero. He and Midthunder have enough chemistry to invest us in their relationship, which is important since the plot rests on that foundation.
Nicholson matches Quaid’s charisma and makes for a captivating villain. One of the most notable traits about Nicholson as an actor is his menacing grin, which one might expect from Jack Nicholson’s son. That made him an obvious choice to appear in Smile 2, but his performance was still one of the most memorable parts of that film. Here he is suitably intimidating and imbues Simon with a sadistic sense of humour, appearing genuinely amused when he pummels Nathan.
Directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen maintain high tension during the fight scenes, based on Nathan’s total lack of fighting experience. There’s a certain Jackie Chan quality to his not wanting any trouble and using objects from the surrounding environment to beat his enemies—with the exception that Chan had exceptional fighting skills. Nathan instead exploits his inability to feel pain to gain advantage, often in wince-inducing ways. His use of shattered glass to vanquish a neo-Nazi tattoo artist is particularly memorable, and the way he manages to free himself from handcuffs is not for the squeamish. Leo Jacobson’s script offers a nice variety of set pieces: a car chase here, Home Alone-style booby traps there.
Being immune to pain might seem at first glance to be a kind of superpower, as Sherry says on her first date with Nathan. The gimmick of Robert Carlyle’s villain in James Bond film The World is Not Enough, for example, is that he’s unable to feel pain. But as Nathan points out, it’s actually a significant weakness: he has the “power” to step on a nail and not notice until his shoe fills with blood. Pain serves a vital biological function by warning us when something is wrong with our bodies. Novocaine walks an effective tightrope, between Nathan’s condition being a source of vulnerability until those moments when it becomes one of strength.
Jacob Batalon has a nice supporting turn as Nathan’s gaming buddy Roscoe Dixon. Just as Quaid is playing a similar role as Hughie on The Boys, Batalon is playing a spin on his role as Peter Parker’s best friend in the MCU Spider-Man movies. While both characters are well within their actors’ respective wheelhouses, Batalon—through no fault of his own—feels like more uninspired casting. Betty Gabriel and Matt Walsh, as a pair of cops in pursuit of Nathan, aren’t particularly interesting, despite the script attempting to evoke audience sympathy by giving Gabriel’s character a daughter. Still, they serve their function to the plot well enough.
Solid action flick overall. Well worth a watch.