Novocaine

SYNOPSIS

Having written the screenplay for Emir Kusturica's eccentric and appealing Arizona Dream, first-time director David Atkins bites off more than he can chew in this numbingly mediocre comedy. Opening improbably and becoming increasingly implausible by the minute, the story turns on respectable dentist Steve Martin's dangerous liaison with tearaway Helena Bonham Carter and her drug-dealing brother, Scott Caan. However, only Laura Dern as Martin's prudish fiancée makes a comic impression. The rest are left floundering in a farce that seems beyond the control of its inexperienced director.