Atkins never finds the right tone for Novocaine. It's not dark enough to be either viciously funny or unsettling.
– Stephanie Zacharek,
Salon.com,
20 Nov 2001
rotten:
A coarse, witless and stunningly violent black comedy.
– Stephen Hunter,
Washington Post,
24 Nov 2001
rotten:
This movie was not effective.
– Richard Roeper,
Ebert & Roeper,
27 Nov 2001
rotten:
Plays like the sort of silly shared fantasy that a group of dental students might come up with late one night, after too much coffee and cramming for finals.
– Jay Boyar,
Orlando Sentinel,
27 Dec 2001
rotten:
The casting is peculiar, the tone is off, the plot is uninteresting and the ending is sorry.