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Novocaine (2001)
Director: David Atkins
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Hmm, dentistry noir. Martin plays Frank Sangster, an easy-going LA tooth doctor with a cornball hygienist-girlfriend (Dern), an occasionally irritating deadwood brother (Elias Koteas), and, it proves, a regulation-issue manipulable libido, exposed by grungy mystery patient Bonham Carter. Enter her mad bad brother Scott Caan, and soon Frank's on the run from hard evidence of murder most gruesome. A tongue-in-cheek comedy thriller riffing on the usual nefarious high jinks, Atkins' debut starts with some neat ideas ('lying is a lot like tooth decay'), but they don't play out; the characters are too shallow, the storytelling too standardised and self-amused, and the visual sensibility that bit too slap-happy for it to take.Author: NB
Cast & crew
Director: David Atkins
Producer: Paul Mones, Daniel M Rosenberg
Cast: Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter, Laura Dern, Elias Koteas, Scott Caan, Keith David, Lynne Thigpen, Kevin Bacon full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 95 mins
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