Novocaine

Last night my nephew and I went to an early access screening of Novocaine and we both had a blast with it.  Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) is a mild-mannered assistant bank manager with a rare genetic disorder, called congenital insensitivity to pain, that causes him to lead a very lonely existence.  When he begins a relationship with a co-worker named Sherry (Amber Midthunder), he thinks that he has found the love of his life.  Three criminals dressed as Santa Claus (Ray Nicholson, Conrad Kemp, and Evan Hengst) rob the bank where they work and take Sherry hostage so Nate decides to go after them to get her back and uses the fact that he can't feel any pain to his advantage.  This has a clever premise with action sequences that are brutal and unrelenting (the gory images might be too much for some) but also very amusing, especially a scene where Nate pretends to react to being tortured by one of the bank robbers.  Quaid is really appealing as a nerdy introvert who becomes an unlikely hero and his interactions with Midthunder and Jacob Batalon, who plays Nate's online gaming friend who is called upon to rescue him in real life, are incredibly charming.  He excels at playing these kinds of goofy roles but he also does a good job in the action sequences and has great comedic timing.  There is a really obvious plot twist but it hardly matters because it is just so much fun.  I recommend seeing with it a group of friends and a big tub of popcorn.