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- Jul 3, 1997
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- Real Name
- Ronald Epstein
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Novocaine
Getting to the root of the problem
is like pulling teeth.
I didn't quite know what to make of Novocaine,
as the film was being hyped as a comedic perfection.
Truth of the matter is, you will have a very hard
time wondering exactly what genre Novocaine
represents.
Frank Sangster (Steve Martin) is a dentist with
a successful practice and beautiful fiancée, Jean
(Laura Dern), who also works as one of his dental
assistants. He's a straight man, always playing
by the books, and the last thing he needs is trouble
that comes in the form of a sexy patient named
Susan Ivey (Helena Bonham Carter).
Susan complains of a severe toothache and seduces
Sangster into prescribing her 5 tablets of Demerol.
It is not long before we learn Susan has forged the
prescription from 5 to 50 pills.
Like a cavity that slowly grows from within, the
story spreads into a much bigger mess that gets
Sansgter involved with murder, drugs and even a
little love and lust.
Despite the incredible cast, Novocaine
really doesn't go anywhere in its 95 minute run.
Martin reacts in this film as if he is sleepwalking,
and at points it doesn't even feel like you should
even care, but still the movie goes on. If there is
any savior to this film it's Helena Bonham Carter,
but she doesn't nearly give the performance she
did in last year's PLANET OF THE APES.
How is the transfer?
Artisan's 16X9 enhanced widescreen (1.85:1)
transfer leaves much to be desired. The film
almost appears to have this "shot on video"
feel making the picture look very unnatural.
Colors are a little too vivid -- especially
in the flesh tones that run extremely red. It's
as if someone turned the color gain up a bit
too high during the transfer.
What's even worse is the amount of visible
video noise in the picture, so evident that
it becomes an annoyance. I am usually used to
seeing noise in dark scenes, but in this case,
even the day lit scenes sport an unusual amount
of picture noise.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix is very good. Use
of the rear speakers are used sparingly for
enhancing Danny Elfman's score as well as the
film's effects. In a scene where Dr. Sangster
meets his brother (Elias Koteas) in a bar, the
rears come alive with the sounds of surrounding
music and patrons moving across the room. There
are also some nice effect touches added in the
form of an oncoming train or evading traffic.
Special Features
The DVD features a full length commentary by
Director David Atkins.
Bitten introduces us to real-life
forensic dentists who talk about why they got
into the field, and some of the most interesting
aspects of it. One of the dentists talks about
his involvement in the Ted Bundy and Jeffrey
Dahmer murder cases. It's interesting to see
how dental evidence is just as important as
fingerprinting and DNA. Note how bite marks on
a victim's body or even duct tape that was bitten
off led to the conviction of a murderer. This
8-minute featurette is a somewhat interesting look
at forensic dentistry and how vital it can be to
crime solving.
Where did the inspiration for this movie come
from? Writer/Director David Atkins tells us he
comes from a family of Dentists in Getting The
Shot, a behind-the-scenes featurette. Steve
Martin, Helen Bonham Cater and Laura Dern talk
about the domino effect of the story as well as
how they were attracted to coming aboard as a
cast member. Fortunately, this 8-minute
documentary shows us more on-location footage
than most featurettes of this sort do as cameras
roll in a dentist's office or along a darkened
highway strip.
There are five Deleted Scenes that include:
* Dr. Sangster having a heart-to-heart
talk with his brother, Harlan. Harlan confesses
his shady past and that he is now a changed man.
The scene ends with a wrist wrestle fight between
the two.
* Dr. Sangster pleading for information
from a hotel clerk at the Golden Slumbers Motel.
* Holed up in a jail pen, Dr. Sangster
meets his new cell mates, one of which is very
eager to get a new toothbrush. You'll find out
why.
* What seems to be an alternate ending
of the film has Dr. Sangster in his own little
heaven juggling beside Susan Ivey, swinging on
a tree swing.
* Showing what could go wrong in the
simplest of scenes, Steve Martin has problems
putting on a bathrobe.
Music of Novocaine gives you a list of
five selections of music from the film that you
can highlight and hear excerpts of. It really
serves no purpose than to hype the film's soundtrack.
Two of the film's Original trailers are
included. I found these especially interesting
to watch for the opportunity to see how a RED BAND
trailer (for adults) differs from a GREEN BAND
trailer (all ages) in promoting a film.
Finally, we get the usual Production Notes
and Cast and Crew biographies.
Final Thoughts
This film had a tough time figuring out what
it wanted to be. You watch Steve Martin sleepwalk
through the motions and at any moment you wish
he'd break out into some kind of wacky physical
comedy, but almost halfway through the film, you
realize it just isn't going to happen. With such
a great cast, everyone involved delivers a second
rate performance.
I also felt that this DVD from ARTISAN comes
off as being somewhat second-rate with a less
than desired transfer quality. If the film had
been better, the added bonus content would have
been more worthwhile.
Not worth a purchase, but good for a rent to
see a semi-nude Helen Bonham Carter.
Release Date: April 23, 2002
Novocaine
Getting to the root of the problem
is like pulling teeth.
I didn't quite know what to make of Novocaine,
as the film was being hyped as a comedic perfection.
Truth of the matter is, you will have a very hard
time wondering exactly what genre Novocaine
represents.
Frank Sangster (Steve Martin) is a dentist with
a successful practice and beautiful fiancée, Jean
(Laura Dern), who also works as one of his dental
assistants. He's a straight man, always playing
by the books, and the last thing he needs is trouble
that comes in the form of a sexy patient named
Susan Ivey (Helena Bonham Carter).
Susan complains of a severe toothache and seduces
Sangster into prescribing her 5 tablets of Demerol.
It is not long before we learn Susan has forged the
prescription from 5 to 50 pills.
Like a cavity that slowly grows from within, the
story spreads into a much bigger mess that gets
Sansgter involved with murder, drugs and even a
little love and lust.
Despite the incredible cast, Novocaine
really doesn't go anywhere in its 95 minute run.
Martin reacts in this film as if he is sleepwalking,
and at points it doesn't even feel like you should
even care, but still the movie goes on. If there is
any savior to this film it's Helena Bonham Carter,
but she doesn't nearly give the performance she
did in last year's PLANET OF THE APES.
How is the transfer?
Artisan's 16X9 enhanced widescreen (1.85:1)
transfer leaves much to be desired. The film
almost appears to have this "shot on video"
feel making the picture look very unnatural.
Colors are a little too vivid -- especially
in the flesh tones that run extremely red. It's
as if someone turned the color gain up a bit
too high during the transfer.
What's even worse is the amount of visible
video noise in the picture, so evident that
it becomes an annoyance. I am usually used to
seeing noise in dark scenes, but in this case,
even the day lit scenes sport an unusual amount
of picture noise.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix is very good. Use
of the rear speakers are used sparingly for
enhancing Danny Elfman's score as well as the
film's effects. In a scene where Dr. Sangster
meets his brother (Elias Koteas) in a bar, the
rears come alive with the sounds of surrounding
music and patrons moving across the room. There
are also some nice effect touches added in the
form of an oncoming train or evading traffic.
Special Features
The DVD features a full length commentary by
Director David Atkins.
Bitten introduces us to real-life
forensic dentists who talk about why they got
into the field, and some of the most interesting
aspects of it. One of the dentists talks about
his involvement in the Ted Bundy and Jeffrey
Dahmer murder cases. It's interesting to see
how dental evidence is just as important as
fingerprinting and DNA. Note how bite marks on
a victim's body or even duct tape that was bitten
off led to the conviction of a murderer. This
8-minute featurette is a somewhat interesting look
at forensic dentistry and how vital it can be to
crime solving.
Where did the inspiration for this movie come
from? Writer/Director David Atkins tells us he
comes from a family of Dentists in Getting The
Shot, a behind-the-scenes featurette. Steve
Martin, Helen Bonham Cater and Laura Dern talk
about the domino effect of the story as well as
how they were attracted to coming aboard as a
cast member. Fortunately, this 8-minute
documentary shows us more on-location footage
than most featurettes of this sort do as cameras
roll in a dentist's office or along a darkened
highway strip.
There are five Deleted Scenes that include:
* Dr. Sangster having a heart-to-heart
talk with his brother, Harlan. Harlan confesses
his shady past and that he is now a changed man.
The scene ends with a wrist wrestle fight between
the two.
* Dr. Sangster pleading for information
from a hotel clerk at the Golden Slumbers Motel.
* Holed up in a jail pen, Dr. Sangster
meets his new cell mates, one of which is very
eager to get a new toothbrush. You'll find out
why.
* What seems to be an alternate ending
of the film has Dr. Sangster in his own little
heaven juggling beside Susan Ivey, swinging on
a tree swing.
* Showing what could go wrong in the
simplest of scenes, Steve Martin has problems
putting on a bathrobe.
Music of Novocaine gives you a list of
five selections of music from the film that you
can highlight and hear excerpts of. It really
serves no purpose than to hype the film's soundtrack.
Two of the film's Original trailers are
included. I found these especially interesting
to watch for the opportunity to see how a RED BAND
trailer (for adults) differs from a GREEN BAND
trailer (all ages) in promoting a film.
Finally, we get the usual Production Notes
and Cast and Crew biographies.
Final Thoughts
This film had a tough time figuring out what
it wanted to be. You watch Steve Martin sleepwalk
through the motions and at any moment you wish
he'd break out into some kind of wacky physical
comedy, but almost halfway through the film, you
realize it just isn't going to happen. With such
a great cast, everyone involved delivers a second
rate performance.
I also felt that this DVD from ARTISAN comes
off as being somewhat second-rate with a less
than desired transfer quality. If the film had
been better, the added bonus content would have
been more worthwhile.
Not worth a purchase, but good for a rent to
see a semi-nude Helen Bonham Carter.
Release Date: April 23, 2002
