Novocaine

Dentist Frank Sangster (Steve Martin as understated victim of his own dark desires) soon learns that one should be careful of what one wishes for when new patient Susan (Helena Bonham Carter as femme fatale) lures him into a dental chair after normal business hours for sex. Sangster gets involved in “one small lie” that unravels his entire life as a domino effect jeopardizes his marriage plans to a wholesome obsessive-compulsive hygienist (Laura Dern) and plunges him into a web of drug theft, betrayal and murder. Players in this macabre, crafty comic crime story from writer-director David Atkins include Frank’s wayward brother (Elias Koreas) and Susan’s psychotic brother (Scott Caan). Atkins fleshes out the drama with such surrealist and comic flourishes as X-ray images of masticating skulls and an unbilled Kevin Bacon playing an actor who is preparing for a role by hanging out with cops.