Review by C.J. Bunce
Stick with me for a second. I’m watching the new Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder superhero/heist/action/Christmas movie Novocaine, now streaming on Paramount+, and something keeps nagging at me. Jack Quaid’s character Nathan Caine reminds me of a character straight out of the comics. But which one? He has that sincerity of Garfield the cat’s dad Jon. He has the animated antics of Dagwood. Wait–I am thinking of comic strips, not comic books? That’s it! He reminds me exactly of Peter Parker from the newspaper comic strips. Only it’s more than that. The “man in the chair” in the recent Spider-Man movies, played by Jacob Batalon, is precisely the same character in this movie. That’s right–Novocaine is the first or second best Spider-Man movie.
No, he doesn’t wear a Spidey suit and doesn’t climb walls. Yet I’ve always thought the best possible Batman movie would be one where Bruce Wayne must solve a crime without access to his batsuit or bat toys. That is Novocaine. For all the people who think Jack Quaid is this generation’s Tom Hanks, just stick your hand in their face. Jack Quaid is his dad, Dennis Quaid, in Innerspace. And maybe Frequency and Dreamspace and The Right Stuff. The Star Trek: Lower Decks star, and star of the recent Companion, reviewed here, has a Peter Parker vibe in everything he does. OK, his character here is also pretty much invincible.
So let’s keep pushing that Spidey comparison. Has there ever been a better on-screen Mary Jane or Gwen than Caine’s lovely and also troubled co-worker and new girlfriend Sherry, played by Amber Midthunder?
And how about those superpowers? Caine is a young man who has a lifelong affliction where he simply cannot feel pain. Kids in school teased him and called him Novocaine. In this movie he is the punching bag in a mix of horror makeup montages, the action and bloody battles of a Final Destination and Saw mash-up. All the beats of this movie parallel the origin story of the hero in the movie Kickass. If you recall how the Watchmen comics were really Alan Moore’s adaptation of the established superheroes of DC Comics, only with names swapped when DC didn’t go for his dark tale, then you can see how this is a lot like Spider-Man if it were written by Alan Moore. Or Kickass creator Mark Millar. Take your pick.
One more thing: The Villain. Ray Nicholson’s villain here has the style and smile that mimic his dad, too. And who wouldn’t we like to see again as a supervillain than the Joker himself, Jack Nicholson?
Counterpart and Get Out’s Betty Gabriel and The Daily Show’s Matt Walsh just fill out the movie’s great supporting cast.
It’s easily the best superhero movie this year. But is it the best Spider-Man movie? See for yourself. Novocaine is streaming now on Paramount+.
