Skin Deep (1989)

A womanizing, drunken, allelic writer, whose life seems to be falling apart at the seams, repeatedly finds himself in trouble of one sort or another with the law, ex-girlfriends, and jealous boyfriends.

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writer:

Blake Edwards

Stars:

John Ritter, Vincent Gardenia, Alyson Reed

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Ritter	...	Zach
Vincent Gardenia	...	Barney
Alyson Reed	...	Alex
Joel Brooks	...	Jake
Julianne Phillips	...	Molly
Chelsea Field	...	Amy
Peter Donat	...	Sparky
Don Gordon	...	Curt
Nina Foch	...	Alex's Mother
Denise Crosby	...	Angie
Michael Kidd	...	Dr. Westford
Dee Dee Rescher	...	Bernice
Bryan Genesse	...	Rick
Bo Foxworth	...	Greg
Raye Hollitt	...	Lonnie

Storyline

Zach Hutton is a womanizing, drunken, allelic writer whose life seems to be falling apart at the seams. He's still in love with his ex-wife (whose family can't stand him), writer's block is keeping him from completing his latest novel, and he repeatedly finds himself in trouble of one sort or another with the law, ex-girlfriends, and jealous boyfriends.

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Plot Keywords:

condom | rock star | piano on fire | duel | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

The comedy that glows in the dark.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Changes

Filming Locations:

Malibu, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$19,674,852 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beco Films, Morgan Creek Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Nina Foch', who played John Ritter's mother-in-law in the film, was originally Ritter's acting coach when he was a student at Hollywood High School and he was really nervous when he met up with her again on the set of the movie.

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Goofs

During the latter half of the movie Zach's beard alternates between real and obviously fake.

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Quotes

Zach: I'm in a lot of trouble, Doctor. Frankly, I don't have the strength or the courage to go on like this, and even if I did, I wouldn't want to. Everyday, I get a little more depressed. I get a little more desperate. I feel like I'm worse off than when I first started with you.
Dr. Westford: When you first started with me, you were a mess.
[Zach chuckles]
Zach: I'm still a mess. I haven't changed.
Dr. Westford: Don't you know by now that changing one's basic character is next to impossible?
Zach: No. I don't know that. Jesus, Doctor, if ...
[...]

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Connections

Spoofs Star Wars (1977)

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Soundtracks

I Can't Go Home
Performed by The Robert Cray Band
Written by Robert Cray
Produced by Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker

User Reviews

Some of the funniest scenes ever filmed

This film from Blake Edwards has one of the all-time funniest sequences in it that has even been filmed, and no I'm not talking about the much bally-hoo'd "dueling glow-in-the-dark-condoms" scene.

The post-spa sequence with a spastic John Ritter never fails to put me in grave danger of a major asthmatic attack. It is brilliant physical comedy. See it for that alone… or for the pruriently curious, to see what the Amazonian "Zap" from that strange syndicated physical challenges show of several years back, looks like with her clothes off!

It may not be Edwards' best effort, but it's no where near as dreadful as others here have suggested.