No Jack Quaids were injured during the making of this film.

I praise action comedies that are either actually funny and entertaining or seriously misunderstood. In fact, when I slammed last year’s “Boy Kills World,” I admitted that I enjoyed “Shoot ‘Em Up,” and nobody criticized me for that in the comments section. That Bill Skarsgard bomb had lots of violence with very little comedy and substance, while “Shoot ‘Em Up” had lots of violence and a mindlessly fun attitude, andI believe somebody on Facebook agreed with me on that film.

I was thinking about my previous movie experiences, while and after watching “Novocaine,” which is about a guy who can’t feel any pain. You can cut off his fingernails, stab him, and burn him all you want, but he still can’t feel any pain. He has a rare disorder, known in real life as congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), and his name is named Nathan Caine, who was given the nickname Novocaine for obvious reasons. And the actor playing him is Jack Quaid, who seems to be enjoying himself getting stabbed in the “Scream” and “Companion.” So why not a make an action comedy where he takes a stabbing, a beating, and a burning without saying “Ow!” honestly?

I think it makes sense that R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” would open “Novocaine” with Nathan starting his day with what might be a scalding hot shower (one that burned Paul Dano in “Prisoners”) and going to work as an assistant manager at the San Diego Trust Credit Union. He’s one of those mild-mannered types, who doesn’t take much action in his life.

And his crush and co-worker Sherry (Amber Midthunder, who starred in “Prey” and has played a bank teller before in “Hell or High Water”) accidentally burns his hand with coffee without him shouting “Ow! F!.” She seems to be one of those mysterious movie girls who is interested in his condition, especially if she convinces him that it’s okay for him to eat cherry pies, as he thinks solid foods could make him bite off his own tongue. I doubt he would feel that, but it’s best we don’t go there.

So it’s the holidays, and what better way for thieves in Santa Clause costumes (Conrad Kemp, Evan Hengst and Ray Nicholson) to rob the bank and kidnap Sherry? What wouldn’t be a rescue mission without a man like Nathan taking matters in his own hands? What isn’t an action movie without cops (Betty Gabriel and Matt Walsh) thinking he’s implicated with the robbers? And what isn’t a hero without his loyal sidekick, here in the form of an online gamer (Jacob Batalan)?

I’m always going to be complaining about my Achilles’ heel being fingernails, and I’m always going to hate seeing tortures of that kind in movies. And yet as Nathan gets tortured in that way and pretending to be hurt, it’s actually kind of funny based on how Quaid handles his character’s mannerisms.

The cliché of the hero being targeted by the cops gets exhausting, but it does make some better choices, which I won’t reveal here for the sake of spoiler alerts. And plus, some of the dialogue within this formula is honest. The directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (“Villains,” “Significant Other”) have better intentions for the R-rated action comedy formula in “Novocaine” than it probably would have been if more well-known comedy filmmakers overdosed on this genre. I’m talking, of course, about how Paul Feig damaged that in “Jackpot.”

Quaid delivers a nice little blend of awkwardness and attitude, like he’s trying to channel on Ryan Reynolds. I think Midthunder is an entertaining young actress and she’s able to play someone breaking free from the damsel in distress routine. Gabriel and Walsh do some lively work as the main detectives. And Batalan makes a fun sidekick as he specialized in the “Spider-Man: Homecoming” trilogy.

There’s a lot of style and attitude within the comedy and violence that never overshadows one another, and the movie doesn’t overachieves the rules of this particular genre. It just wants to be funny and violent in its own way. And I’m already jealous that Nathan can survive the dentist without the numbing needle.