''Skin Deep'' is a 1989 American romantic

sex comedy Sexual comedy (also known as, sex comedy and erotic comedy) is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sexual comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary wor ...

film written and directed by

Blake Edwards Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio scripts ...

and starring

John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American comedian and actor. He was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason Ritter, Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is best known for ...

Plot

Zachary "Zach" Hutton is a successful author with a weakness for alcohol and beautiful women. The tumultuous course of his life takes a dramatic turn when his mistress catches him cheating with her attractive hairdresser. This discovery is followed by a perilous encounter, as his estranged wife, Alex, stumbles upon the scene, finding the mistress poised to shoot Zach with his own revolver. As the relationships crumble, Zach embarks on a self-destructive journey marked by binge-drinking and seeking solace in a string of women. He neglects work, exacerbates tensions with his ex-wife, and even attends a formal party in a genie's costume while inebriated. Zach's escapades include a tumultuous affair with a volatile woman named Molly, who subjects him to a skin-treatment electro-therapy machine, causing quivering spasms from head to toe. Another episode unfolds in total darkness, with Zach wearing a luminous condom as he prepares for an encounter with a woman named Amy. Unexpectedly, Amy's boyfriend returns to the hotel room similarly attired, leading to a frantic glow-in-the-dark fight. After disrupting his ex-wife's wedding day, Zach confronts the realization that his lifestyle has spiraled out of control. Motivated to change, he sobers up, refrains from womanizing, and rediscovers his passion for writing. Against all odds, he achieves the trifecta of recovery, ultimately winning back Alex's love, proving her initial doubts about his transformation wrong.

Cast

as Zachary "Zach" Hutton *

Vincent Gardenia Vincent Gardenia (born Vincenzo Scognamiglio; January 7, 1920 – December 9, 1992) was an Italian-American stage, film and television actor. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, first for '' Bang the Drum Slowl ...

as Barney the Barkeeper *

Alyson Reed Alyson Reed is an American dancer and actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in ...

as Alexandra "Alex" Hutton *

Joel Brooks Joel Brooks is an American actor, known for his roles in '' Stir Crazy'', '' My Sister Sam'', '' Six Feet Under'', '' The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green'' and ''Phil of the Future''. Brooks also had a recurring role as a psychologist ...

as Jake Fedderman *

Julianne Phillips Julianne Phillips (born May 6, 1960) is an American former model and actress. She began her career as a model in the early 1980s before moving on to acting. She first attracted attention as the first wife of Bruce Springsteen and later for her ...

as Molly *

Chelsea Field Chelsea Field is an American actress. Career Field started her career as a Solid Gold Dancer, and one of her first television roles was on ''Airwolf''. She also played Teela in the 1987 film adaptation of ''Masters of the Universe''. She ...

as Amy McKenna *

Peter Donat Peter Donat (born Pierre Collingwood Donat; January 20, 1928 – September 10, 2018) was a Canadian-American actor. Early life Pierre Collingwood Donat was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Marie (née Bardet) and Philip Ernst ...

as Leon "Sparky" Sparks * Don Gordon as Curt Ames *

Nina Foch Nina Foch ( ; born Nina Consuelo Maud Fock; April 20, 1924 – December 5, 2008) was an American actress who later became a drama instructor. Her career spanned 6 decades, consisting of over 50 feature films and over 100 television credits. She ...

as Marge, Alex's Mother *

Denise Crosby Denise Michelle Crosby (born November 24, 1957) is an American actress and model known for portraying Security Chief Tasha Yar mainly in Star Trek: The Next Generation (season 1), season one of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', and Yar's daug ...

as Angela "Angie" Smith *

Michael Kidd Michael Kidd (August 12, 1915 – December 23, 2007) was an American film and stage choreographer, dancer and actor, whose career spanned five decades, and who staged some of the leading Broadway and film musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Kidd, s ...

as Dr. Westford * Dee Dee Rescher as Bernice Fedderman * Bryan Genesse as Rick Curry *Bo Foxworth as Greg *

Raye Hollitt Raye Hollitt (born April 17, 1964) is an American actress and bodybuilder, also known by her stage name Zap, one of the original cast members of '' American Gladiators''. Biography Hollitt graduated from Lake-Lehman High School in 1982, then wo ...

as Lonnie Jones *Brenda Swanson as Emily *Jean Marie McKee as Rebecca "Becky"

Production

A glaring production issue is visible in the final film. John Ritter is bearded throughout the movie and for the majority of the film he has an actual beard. There were clearly some random scenes that were re-shot after he shaved his beard and in those scenes he's sporting a clearly artificial beard that does not match his actual beard very closely.

Reception

Critical reception

The film received mixed to negative reviews. The film earned a 32% "Rotten" rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 28 critics, with an average rating of 5.10/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". However, many critics praised John Ritter's performance in the film. One of the few positive reviews was by

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

, who wrote, "The daring thing Edwards does in ''Skin Deep'' is to try to combine two entirely different tones within the same film. This is a smart, sensitive film that knows a lot about human nature."

Box office

Despite negative reviews, the film was a financial success grossing $20 million in the United States and Canada and $25 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $45 million.

Soundtrack

*"Falling Out of Love" performed by

Ivan Neville Ivan Neville (born August 19, 1959) is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Aaron Neville and nephew to the other members of The Neville Brothers. Career Neville has released four solo albums and ...

*"Just to Keep You Satisfied" performed by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

*"I Can't Go Home" performed by

The Robert Cray Band Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed at ...

*"It's Just a Matter of Time" performed by

Brook Benton Benjamin Franklin Peay (September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988), known professionally as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter whose music transcended rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres in the 1950s and 1960s, with ...

*"Skin Deep" performed by Debra Holland *"Songbird" performed by

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...

*"Dreamin'" performed by

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later Vanes ...

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major), K. 525, is a 1787 composition for a chamber ensemble by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). The German title means "a little night music" and is one of Mozart's most famous works. The serena ...

" performed by The Falla Trio *"

Have You Met Miss Jones? "Have You Met Miss Jones?" is a popular song that was written for the musical comedy ''I'd Rather Be Right''. The music was written by Richard Rodgers and the lyrics by Lorenz Hart. The song was published in 1937. Background In the musical, the ...

" written by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

and

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...

(not credited in the film) *" My Romance" written by

and

(not credited in the film) *Film score and additional incidental music by

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, ...

(not credited in the film) *Additional incidental music by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

(not credited in the film) The song "Killer Love" by

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...

was intended to be used in the film, but was omitted at the last minute. The song was released on Jarreau's 1988 album '' Heart's Horizon''.

References

External links

* {{Blake Edwards 1989 films 1980s sex comedy films 1989 romantic comedy films Films about alcoholism Films directed by Blake Edwards Films with screenplays by Blake Edwards American sex comedy films American romantic comedy films Films about writers Films shot in Los Angeles Films set in Los Angeles American independent films Morgan Creek Productions films 20th Century Fox films 1980s English-language films Films scored by Henry Mancini 1980s American films English-language sex comedy films English-language romantic comedy films