Skin Deep - Il piacere è tutto mio

I loved this movie. the story was cheesy, but done well. the psychiatrist was hilarious. stockard channing was hilarious.

there were glowing condoms for goodness sake. but most of all, John Ritter is phenomenal. The sequence after the shock therapy, is the funniest physical comedy scene I have ever seen on film.

John Ritter makes Zach and the film memorable. It's more or less a one man show by him, though the character hardly has an element of heroism in it. He wonderfully transforms himself into Zach Hutton, a writer by profession with a weakness for drinks and women. He faces the fury of boyfriends of the women, and later, the revenge of the girls themselves, after they break up.

The movie progresses with hilarious sequences, at times slap-stick. Be sure not to miss the dialogues, for there are many instances when humour makes its presence in the most unexpected of situations. Altogether non stop entertainment is warrantied..

John Ritter is in fine form as writer with writers block, a drinking problem, and at least a bunch of relationship problems. Ritter trying to change his character, even as his life is spiraling out of control, provides plenty of laughs. Vincent Gardenia plays a bartender, and John Ritter is his best customer. "Skin Deep" is at it's funniest when sharp dialog is being exchanged, and weakest when it resorts to slapstick. The movie is highly original, and maintains interest throughout. My only objection would be that some scenes go on a little too long. If you enjoy Blake Edward's comedies like the "Pink Panther" films, you will not be disappointed. - MERK

John Ritter plays Zach, a writer with writer's block who also is a womanizer, a drunk and a selfish jerk. When the story begins, Zach's destroying yet another marriage by cheating on his spouse. The story consists of watching Zach screw up his life again and again.

Despite being written and directed by Blake Edwards, this film is NOT a comedy...though some reviewers inexplicably thought it was hilarious. It has a few mildly funny moments (such as the cock fight and, although very sick, the bit involving Harry) but I don't think Edwards intended it as a comedy but a portrait of an incredibly screwed up man....and on that level the film does work. You dislike and possibly hate Zach...but you also can't help but think that Edwards and Ritter did a fine job of making a realistic self-destructive man. In some ways, it reminded me of one of Edwards' earliest successes..."Days of Wine and Roses". And, on that level, the film worked well for me. Overall, while very unpleasant to watch at times, a very well made picture.



One thing to note. If you do watch the film, don't be surprised with all the nudity. It isn't surprising based on the material....but I thought you should know.

Skin Deep starts off to a soulful, bluesy song called "falling out of love" (lyrically quite fitting for the main character), and we see a woman walking into a house. The house belongs to Zach Hutton, and the woman, we assume, is Zach's wife. She catches him fooling around with a young blonde and grabs Zach's revolver. The scene that follows is hilarious; the music has stopped and we're thrust into a tense but funny moment. As it turns out, this woman is not Zach's wife, but his mistress, and she is ready to kill him until his wife walks in. They introduce themselves and share their disappointment in Zach. At this point, I needed to take a very deep breath to brace myself, because it was very obvious that this guy has issues and this movie was going to be full of hilariously painful situations for our hero. It was no big surprise that within the next few scenes he's sobbing in a psychiatrist's office.

This is a comedy that has an exaggerated sense of being true to life. It is somewhat serious, Zach is a tortured soul, but he's mostly casually tortured and takes his abuse with humour, which makes it okay for us to laugh. He's a washed up writer, his wife has left him with a settlement that was not exactly fair to his side, and he can't get over his obsession with picking up women. He's addicted. This is one pathetic man. He endures some of the most hilarious situations ever committed to film (I won't even bother mentioning the glow-in-the-ark condom sequence, but yes, it is hysterical). He also endures genuine sadness in his life, and that makes him more human than just a simple comic sketch, and makes this such a great movie.

The ending wraps things up a little too easily, but what the hell? Comedies usually have happy endings. The ending was satisfactory, but the movie in general was above average. John Ritter was a master at perfecting both drama and comedy, which is what was needed for this role. He did an amazing job, and I feel it's his finest performance, displaying his genuine charm as a comedic actor, as well as the possibly even more intriguing serious side of a conflicted, lost man. I love this movie.

My rating: 10/10