Novocaine

Frank Sangster is a dentist with a steady practice and a comfortable life alongside his hygienist, Jean Noble. That life comes apart when a new patient, Susan, walks into his office and draws him into a relationship that begins with prescriptions and ends with him accused of murder. As investigators close in, Frank has to work out what has been done to him and why.

Novocaine was released in 2001 and was written and directed by David Atkins, his first feature as director. Steve Martin plays Frank, with Helena Bonham Carter as Susan and Laura Dern as Jean; the credited cast runs to 36 performers. Atkins wrote the screenplay himself, and Paul Mones and Daniel M. Rosenberg produced.

The film mixes comedy, crime and thriller elements across a 95-minute running time. Made for 8 million dollars, it took in roughly 3 million dollars worldwide, a return well below its production cost. On IMDb it holds 5.8/10 from about 12,000 votes, and on TMDB 6/10 from a much smaller base of 169 votes. A critics' rating of 5.3/10 from 106 reviews puts it close to the audience scores, rather than sharply apart from them.