Novocaine

Year: 2001

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Atkins

Review

in a lot of ways this film reminds me of election. both are about older professionals with seemingly good lives who hit a snag in their lives…and in both cases the snags are a result of their reaction to a girl. both films are also capable of humor and drama. further, both are quite well directed when you look at them closely and listen to the director commentary. i don’t think that novocaine is as good as election, but it’s a capable and entertaining film nonetheless. atkins’ commentary deals mostly with his creative process – why he shot the film the way he did, how he came up with certain scenes or ideas, etc. overall it’s a well put together picture, it’s thoughtfully done and it’s entertaining so you can’t really ask for much more than that. also, laura dern is an underrated actress.