REEL CRITICS

John Depko and June Fenner

‘Novocaine’ hits a funny nerve

“Novocaine” is an offbeat dark comedy that takes many interesting

turns while following the strange developments in the once dull life of a

family dentist.

Steve Martin is Frank Sangster, the perfect conservative dentist

engaged to his perfect dental assistant, played with verve by Laura Dern.

Frank’s boring life is turned upside-down by Susan, a hot babe with loose

morals and a major drug habit, who appears in his office for an emergency

root canal.

Helena Bonham Carter does a great job playing this lowlife loser who

knows how to use sex and passion to get what she wants. From the moment

he meets her, everything Frank does is against his better judgment and

fuels all the bizarre twists that spin his life out of control. Within

hours, Frank is lost in a web of intrigue, murder and stolen drugs that

is totally alien to his formerly quiet life.

Afraid to tell the truth, he quickly comes under investigation by

local police and federal agents. Adding to the sense of foreboding, both

Frank and Susan have equally psychopathic brothers, who fill up the

screen with explosive anger and brooding intensity. Their sinister

presence stands in contrast to the semi-comic misadventures that overtake

the befuddled dentist.

Centering on an ordinary man caught up in extraordinary circumstances

with dangerous characters, this movie is reminiscent of some old

Hitchcock films. But “Novocaine” is much too tongue-in-cheek to take

itself that seriously.

This might not be a great film. But with lots of interesting scenes,

social satire and comic relief, “Novocaine” is an amusing diversion that

entertains as intended.

“Novocaine” is rated R for violence, sexuality, language and drug

content.

* JOHN DEPKO, 48, is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator

for the Orange County public defender’s office.

Coping with what’s ‘In the Bedroom’

There are certain things I always want to know about a film before I

commit to seeing it. If you’re the same way, I think you might want to

know right off the bat , “In the Bedroom” is about parents coping with

the murder of their son.

Actually, this movie is about parents not coping with the murder of

their son.

Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson’s superb understated performances as

the parents are unforgettable. Their pain, grief and anger fill every

inch of the theater until, at times, I wondered if there was room for air

to breathe.

Wilkinson plays Matt Fowler, a successful family doctor in a beautiful

small coastal town in Maine. Spacek is his wife, Ruth, the high school

choral teacher. Frank (Nick Stahl) is their only child, a handsome,

bright, likable young man who is spending a pleasant summer at home

before starting graduate school.

Marisa Tomei is Natalie, a beautiful young woman with two small sons.

She is in the process of ending an unhappy marriage. As the movie begins,

Natalie and Frank are enjoying what Frank calls a “summer thing.” Ruth

worries about the propriety of Frank’s involvement with Natalie since,

legally, she is still married to a man who lives in this small town.

Matt’s reaction to his son’s affair fluctuates between pride and an

occasional twinge of jealousy.

Events move with shattering speed. All too soon, the Fowler household

is silent, filled only with the great, immovable, suffocating presences

of two parents, each individually grieving for their son and seeking

closure in retribution.

Here is where the real story begins. This story is, most likely, not

the story you expect. It may or may not be a story you can believe. It

will, however, be a story you won’t forget.

“In the Bedroom” is rated R for some violence and language.* JUNE

FENNER, a Costa Mesa resident in her late 50s, is vice president of a

work-force training company.