Actor and son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, Jack Quaid, is having something of a moment right now. Between Amazon’s megahit series The Boys and the excellent recent horror/comedy film Companion, Quaid is creating a space for himself in the genre space rather effectively. His latest film is Dan Berk and Robert Olsen’s action comedy Novocaine, set to be released next Friday. Novocaine is an action-packed and entertaining good time, sometimes in spite of itself, as it becomes more convoluted as it goes on. However, I suspect for many audiences, it will be more than enough for a night at the movies. And it’s perhaps the most effective showcase so far for what Quaid can do as a leading man.

Nathan Caine (Quaid) is a mild-mannered introvert who works at a bank in San Diego. Aside from the guy he plays video games with on the internet (Jacob Batalon), he has practically no social life and keeps to himself. He has a rare medical condition that prevents him from feeling pain. He goes on an awkward but promising first date with coworker Sherry (Amber Midthunder) and feels optimistic for the first time in awhile, finally having found the human connection he’s been craving. On Christmas Eve (are banks open on Christmas Eve?), his bank is targeted by robbers, who abduct Sherry. Nathan decides to take matters in his own hands, and save the special woman in his life.

Novocaine is quite a fun time at the movies, if one can turn their brain off and not think too much about plot holes and little things that don’t quite make sense. For the first third or so, I felt like we might be seeing a different kind of movie than what the trailers promised. The tone was more subdued, the action-movie-ness of this hadn’t quite kicked in yet, and it felt like this story would have a stronger focus on its characters and their traumas, than the whiz-bang, shoot-‘em-up action sequences. That changes after the bank robbery happens, and the film gradually loses IQ points from that point forward. It seems kind of ridiculous that bank robbers would take this thing as far as they do, while actively calling attention to themselves by wearing Santa suits and staging this holdup on Christmas Eve. However, there’s a lot of dumb stuff I’ll forgive here simply because for the most part, I really had a good time.

Like I said, Jack Quaid has carved out a spot for himself in the genre space, and he’s done this kind of thing before. He’s mild-mannered and charming but can flip a switch and turn into the action hero if the situation calls for it. And the premise of him playing this character who physically cannot feel pain gives him the opportunity to give verve and life to some really fun and creative action sequences. There’s a lot in the sound design and the visuals that really make the viewer feel the pain of these moments viscerally. Before the action movie kicks in, Quaid gets some nice opportunities to play some more introspective character moments, and I almost wish the film would’ve stayed like that instead of becoming the airless action movie the advertising materials promised. But I’m comfortable stating that this film would not have worked nearly as well without Quaid at the center.

In our supporting cast, there’s Amber Midthunder as Nathan’s true love Sherry. Midthunder is an actress I had not seen before, and she’s got plenty of charisma and the connection with her and Quaid feels real enough to make this storyline make sense effectively. We also have another descendant of Hollywood royalty, Ray Nicholson (son of Jack) as one of the bank robbers. And he looks so much like his father it’s almost distracting. And he’s very good in a villainous role like this. Jacob Batalon, from the most recent set of Spider-Man movies, is fun to watch as Nathan’s only friend, a gamer who he’s never met in real life, who shows up for him when it counts. Get Out’s Betty Gabriel and Veep’s Matt Walsh show up as a baffled duo of detectives trying to sort out this case, and I enjoyed their work as well. 

Overall, I’m a bit mixed on Novocaine, but there’s far more to enjoy here than what annoyed me. As an action movie, it moves on at a nice enough clip and has plenty of big action set pieces that make the experience fun. But it starts out with a sharp focus on character detail and feels surprisingly nuanced, and that wears off as the film goes along. But for a night at the movies, it’s enjoyable enough to be a pleasant cinematic diversion in a not-that-busy time of the year. And the performance Jack Quaid is giving feels like the culmination of what he’s done onscreen so far, while promising more to come. Narratively, Novocaine is a bit of a mess, but it’s just fun enough to earn it a slight recommendation. It’s never a home-run, but Jack Quaid’s work is strong enough for me to be more forgiving towards this film’s shortcomings than I may otherwise have been. I don’t feel like Novocaine is setting up a John Wick-ish action movie franchise, but if we were to spend some more time with these characters in a sequel, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a ticket.