The late great John Ritter plays Zach, an alcoholic author who, when the film begins, gets caught in a compromising position by two of his other lovers, including his wife. Instantly separated, Zach continues his wooing and boozing even while lamenting to Barney the bartender (Vincent Gardenia) and his psychologist (Michael Kidd) that he's miserable and is considering a lifestyle change. The film then goes on to become an uneasy hodge-podge - usually in short, scattershot scenes - of silly sexual misadventures and neurotic navel-gazing. Directed by the great Blake Edwards, Skin Deep is a comedy that has an exaggerated sense of being true to life. It is somewhat serious, Zach is indeed a tortured soul, but he's mostly casually tortured and takes his abuse with humor, which makes it okay for you to laugh. In one of the most memorable moments of the film, he goes to bed with a rock stars girlfriend, who suggests he wear one of the stars condoms - an iridescent glow-in-the-dark model that leads to two of the strangest and funniest scenes Edwards has ever filmed. Ritters performance in this film is a transitional role. He has more depth here, more dimension, than hes generally known for, and he is able to handle the trickiest part of playing a drunk in a movie, which is to understand that you are both the clown and the applicable straight man.
Jesse Gumbarge is editor and chief blogger at JarvisCity.com - He loves old-school horror films and starting pointless debates. You can reach out at: JesseGumbarge@JarvisCity.com
