Skin Deep Reviews

The antihero of Blake Edwards' SKIN DEEP, Zach Hutton (John Ritter), is an award-winning writer who has fallen into a creative void and has been blocked for years. On the evidence of SKIN DEEP and his previous film, SUNSET, Edwards also seemed to be stuck in a formidable rut, but unlike Hutton, he keeps on working, forcing viewers to suffer through the drought with him. SKIN DEEP is the dull story of Zach's attempts to win back his estranged wife (Alyson Reed), efforts which lead him to give up drinking and womanizing, his two favorite pastimes. Of course, this proves even harder than it sounds for this perpetual Peter Pan, and Zach suffers much humiliation--including a fight with a sexual rival that takes place in the dark, with both men wearing only fluorescent condoms--in the process. Midlife southern Californian angst has proved fertile ground for Edwards, but SKIN DEEP is neither as funny nor as compelling as 10 or S.O.B. Ritter lacks the charisma to bring his role off, the slapstick is tiresome, and Edwards' script fails to generate sympathy for Zach or to develop characters.