Novocaine

In surer hands, this quirky mixture of DOUBLE INDEMNITY-style film noir and suburban black comedy à la AMERICAN BEAUTY might have worked. But just as writer-director David Atkins is no James M. Cain, neither is he Alan Ball; the mystery is terribly plotted and the satirical elements are limited and not very funny. The twist is that our hapless hero isn't a private eye or even an insurance investigator: He's a dentist, and the femme fatale who slinks into his office isn't missing a husband, she's suffering from a bad tooth. Dr. Frank Sangster (Steve Martin) runs a bustling, state-of-the-art practice in which everything runs according to a tight schedule, thanks l...