Novocaine could have been written by a 12-year-old, and I’m not sure I mean that pejoratively. It’s a riff on superhero stories, but it’s been thought up with a whiff of dopey plausibility: The film’s protagonist,

“Novocaine” only cost $18 million to produce, so (like its main character) it shouldn’t be feeling any pain at the box office. On the flip side, “Mickey 17” cost $118 million to produce and needs around $275 million to $300 million worldwide to make a profit.

Quaid's leading role in Novocaine feels like a natural continuation of these genre-bent everymen. He plays Nathan Caine, a mild-mannered assistant bank manager who has congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA), a genetic disorder that impacts his nervous system to the point that he can't feel pain or temperature.