Fun and cheeky: ‘Skincare’ is all about the look
The campy true-crime dramedy “Skincare” has enough dickheads and dick pics to make you blush. But the deepest rouge is reserved for Elizabeth Banks as an anesthesiologist who might not have the right makeup for the high-end makeup business.
It’s a hard lesson her Hope Goldman is about to absorb at the hands of a mysterious saboteur out to take the gloss off her plans of becoming Hollywood’s No. 1 skincare guru to the stars. What’s especially cruel is that Hope is a mere two weeks from realizing her lifelong dream. Then “it” happens. That “it” being a vicious cyber attack bent on ruining her by dropping vulgar sexual come-ons into the email boxes of all of her classiest clients.
What’s a girl to do?
That’s the setup for the sophomore directing effort by Austin Peters (“Give Me Future”), a dude a lot like Hope, valuing aesthetics over substance when plying his trade. It’s a bit of a bummer because “Skincare” is rife with opportunities to skewer the superficial state of SoCal beauty trends while also pointing out how a hacker can destroy a person’s reputation with a single keystroke.
Instead, he and co-writers, Sam Freilich and Deering Regan, go for the easy marks, meaning Hope’s self-destructive vanity and a rogue’s gallery of bumbling idiots who make Nancy Kerrigan’s attackers look like geniuses. I won’t lie, it’s a blast to watch, even downright funny at times. It’s also as empty as a used-up tube of lipstick.
Yet, Banks is always there, ready and able to bail Peters out at a moment’s notice with a terrific portrayal of a highly confident, self-assured woman having the rug pulled out from under her overnight. Too panicked to think straight, her Hope shifts instantly into survival mode as she sees all that she worked for rapidly slipping away via circumstances she cannot control. For a type-A personality, there’s nothing more daunting. And Banks makes you feel it.
Hope’s march toward insanity is a gradual process. Some of it is obvious, as Hope’s deportment becomes less and less put together. But it’s the mental toll that Banks communicates so well that draws you to a woman who was never easy to like. What would “Skincare” be without her? I hate to think.
The most glaring error on the parts of Peters and his co-writers is in not making the culprit less evident. I picked him out right away. But the movie is nearly an hour in before Peters reveals his identity. It takes even longer for Hope to figure it out. It’s a flaw that frustrates and eventually causes the movie to drag. Get on with it already.
If the plot sounds familiar, it’s because it’s loosely based on the case of Dawn DeLuise, a Hollywood anesthesiologist who was accused – and acquitted – of hiring a man to kill her chief competitor. For the movie’s purposes, his name has been changed to Angel Vergara (a very good Luis Gerardo Méndez), who dares open a shop directly across the street from Hope and wastes no time siphoning off her patrons. Surely, he’s the instigator. All the evidence is there, right?
You’ll get no arguments from Hope’s new ally, Jordan (Lewis Pullman), the life coach for one of her regulars played by Wendie Malick. Jordan takes an immediate liking to Hope and she to him, as they partner in attempting to flush out the perpetrator. Pullman, the son of Bill, is perfect in the role, establishing an appealing blend of hunkiness and borderline ill-intent. Normally, Hope runs from guys like this, but in desperate times …
Like 90 percent of the males in “Skincare,” Jordan is more than a bit intellectually challenged. That goes double for Nathan Fillion’s vainglorious daytime TV show host Brett Wright, who takes a special interest in Hope, promising her to air the piece she taped for his program a few days back, a piece that was pulled in the wake of the cyber scandal. But if Brett is to do her a favor, she’ll first have to do him one.
Here’s a prime example of the film’s many missed opportunities. And that would be how everything in the upper echelons of Hollywood seems to be transactional. Even Hope plays the game, offering free jars of moisturizer to anyone lending her a hand, including her amorous local mechanic (Jason Manuel Olazabal). The two exceptions are her loyal assistant Marine (Michaela Jae Rodriguez) and impatient landlord (John Billingsley) who wants his long overdue rent now. All they get is blown off.
And to a degree, Peters is blowing us off by underestimating our intelligence and capacity to see more than what’s there. Lucky for him, the performances are all first-rate with Banks leading the way. Sure, they are all playing down to the level of the material. But you’re so glad they’re here, putting a pretty face on a film that emphatically proves how deceiving appearances can be, particularly in a place called Tinseltown.
Movie review
Skincare
Rated: R for language throughout, graphic nudity, brief drug use, sexual content, some violence
Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Lewis Pullman, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Nathan Fillion and Michaela Jae Rodriguez
Director: Austin Peters
Writers: Sam Freilich, Deering Regan and Austin Peters
Runtime: 94 minutes
Where: Now in theaters
Grade: B-
