27/03/2025

LYFE THURSDAY | MAR 27, 2025

26

MOVIE REVIEW

Nate (Quaid, right) and Sherry (Midthunder) share an awkwardly sweet moment on their first date, in which things start normal and spiral out of control fast.

Thrown into comically violent situations, battered but determined Nate proves nothing says ‘I love you’ like a face full of contusions and a heart full of hope.

Novocaine proves no pain, plenty gain

o Jack Quaid stars in charmingly ridiculous action-comedy that turns injury into punchlines N OVOCAINE is a delightful fever dream dipped in hot sauce, drenched in adrenaline and tossed head first into a Christmas heist gone hilariously wrong. Ű BY YASMIN ZULRAEZ

Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, this action-comedy hybrid manages to pull off the impossible: a love story so wildly unrealistic, it loops back around to being utterly adorable. Starring the ever-watchable Jack Quaid as Nate, an emotionally stunted bank employee with a real medical condition that renders him unable to feel pain, the film throws logic out the window and leans hard into sheer entertainment. The result? A riotous, genre blending romp where physical comedy meets criminal chaos. And yes, love really does hurt. Ultimate himbo action hero Quaid’s Nate is the kind of guy who should be nowhere near danger, women or blunt objects but somehow thrives when all three are present. There is a certain underdog charm in watching a man completely incapable of sensing bodily harm throw himself into dangerous situations out of pure romantic desperation. The more he bleeds, the more audiences root for him. It is slapstick meets sentimentality and it works.

Quaid as Nate is physically confused, emotionally committed and still somehow chasing love.

It helps that Quaid is fully committed. He sells every moment with a deadpan sweetness that keeps Nate from becoming a parody. He is not exactly a hero, more like a guy who really, really likes a girl and has a weird tolerance for blunt force trauma. And while he may not feel pain, his emotional vulnerability somehow lands even harder. A cleverly inventive key art teases the wild ride ahead, with Nate subjected to increasingly absurd injuries.

Every second is absurd There is no need for logic in Novocaine and frankly, it is better that way. The plot races forward like a sugar-rushed elf on Christmas Eve, tossing realism aside in favour of sheer narrative mayhem. Car chases? Check. Explosions? Sure. Tattoo artists with questionable ethics and booby trapped bachelor pads? Absolutely. Every moment is carefully engineered to be as absurd as possible and it is glorious. Even the romantic subplot, which

Nate’s crush gets kidnapped in every instalment, he might just become a top-tier special agent. There is something hilariously thrilling about imagining this soft-spoken, pain-immune bank worker bumbling his way through increasingly outrageous rescue missions, all because he caught feelings. The action is crisp, the comedy lands and the direction maintains a buoyant tone throughout. Berk and Olsen clearly had a vision: throw everything at the wall, let Quaid bounce off it and make sure the audience has a blast watching him limp, leap and love his way to victory. Dumb, lovable, totally worth it Novocaine is a love story for people who hate love stories and an action movie for people who do not need mega explosions to make sense. It is stupid in the best way, funny when it should not be and sweet when it does not have to be. It is the kind of film that leaves audiences grinning and wondering, why did that work so well? Because sometimes, it is okay to turn your brain off and let the chaos in. Because sometimes, pain is funny. And sometimes, the guy who can not feel anything makes everyone else feel everything.

might have stumbled in a more grounded film, somehow feels oddly sincere amid all the chaos. Yes, it is wildly unrealistic. Yes, it plays like a holiday rom-com ran head first into Die Hard and decided to make out with it under the mistletoe. But the chemistry works. The jokes land. And when the action hits, it really hits. Fantastic time-waster Some movies demand to be studied. Others ask to be savoured. Novocaine proudly declares: waste your time here, you will enjoy every second. It is the kind of film that is perfect for a weekend binge or a late night watch with friends, popcorn and absolutely zero expectations. It does not reinvent the wheel, it straps that wheel to a flaming sleigh and sends it barreling down a hill. What makes Novocaine work is the commitment to being unreasonably entertaining. Every supporting character adds just the right amount of flavour, every scene escalates with cartoon logic and every injury Nate suffers becomes a bizarre little love letter to slapstick comedy. Discount Jason Bourne – if he were in love What truly seals the film’s appeal is its accidental pitch for a sequel: if

0 Cast: Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel 0 Director: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen E-VALUE 7 ACTING 6

PLOT

7

With zero pain and even less of a plan, Nate sprints into chaos because the heart wants what it wants.