In Novocaine, Steve Martin plays a successful small-town dentist named Frank Sangster, secure in his neatly ordered existence and happily engaged to Jean Noble (Laura Dern), his ambitious dental hygienist. Sangster's life is about to change with the arrival of Susan Ivy (Helena Bonham Carter), a new patient who walks in needing a root canal and winds up getting Frank mixed up in a world of sex, drugs and murder.

Novocaine tries hard to be a film reminiscent of the Coen Brothers' Fargo and Blood Simple, combining laughter with suspense. Unfortunately Mr. Atkins, you are neither Ethan or Joel. There are some laughs, but they are few and far between. The "twists and turns" are neither surprising or inventive. They're far too obvious and predictable. Even the visual style of the film is bland, resembling something one would see more on the small screen than the big one.

Martin turns in a nice performance as the wrongly accused dentist out to clear his name. Laura Dern gives her role a lot of juice while Helena Bonham Carter, who seems a bit out of place, is adequate as the mysterious Susan. Scott Caan chews up the scenery in a few small sections (just like his dear ol' dad) as Susan's psychopathic brother while Elias Koteas shows up briefly as Frank's deadbeat younger brother, Harlan.

Keep an eye out for Kevin Bacon's truly hilarious cameo as a Hollywood actor in town researching for his next role as a homicide detective. He's only in the film for about five minutes, but he makes that limited time worthwhile.

Novocaine is a half-hearted and all-too predictable trip into Coen Brothers territory. Despite a game effort by leads Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter and Laura Dern, this new black comedy/film noir from first-time director David Atkins fails to deliver in the laughter, thrills or entertainment departments.

It's always a shame when a movie has a great cast and a promising premise, only to see it largely go down the drain when not enough effort is shown behind the camera. That is the case with Novocaine.

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