Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Skin Deep Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 28, 2021

Blake Edwards' "Skin Deep" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment. The only bonus feature on the release is a vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The addict

Do you recall the character Mickey Rourke plays in Barbet Schroeder’s film Barfly? He is a miserable drunkard who can write but lacks the strength to clean up his act and do something meaningful with his talent. When he is sober, he usually argues with strangers and does his best to convince them that he deserves a good beating. When he is drunk, he looks like a human wreck.

John Ritter plays a very similar character in Blake Edwards’ film Skin Deep. He is a talented writer with a serious drinking problem that has killed his desire to be productive. Because he has plenty of money, however, he can easily feed his addiction and afford to see an expensive shrink who ‘understands’ his problem and spends long hours trying to ‘explain’ it to him. In other words, he is a human wreck as well, but of the kind that is a lot easier to tolerate.

But this character has an even bigger addiction and it is the one that is really screwing up his life. It is sex. He lives in a glamorous area of ‘80s LA too, which means that most of the time he feels like a diabetic in a candy store. He is fully aware that the type of sex his mind fantasizes about isn’t right for him, but he can’t turn it down. In fact, he is constantly on the move seeking the best piece of candy.

Like most hardcore addicts, however, the drunkard eventually overdoses on alcohol and sex and nearly dies.

Edwards had a very unique sense of humor that usually gave his films their identity and this is exactly the case with Skin Deep as well. Indeed, while the (mostly sexual) adventures of Ritter’s character are quite entertaining, the real trills that make the film special emerge from Edwards’ ability to treat the naughty in a way that prevents it from becoming even remotely vulgar. This makes all the difference in the world because even in the most exotic material it does not look like grownup characters are forced to behave like idiots. Yes, some do some pretty silly things, but they are of the kind that an appropriately silly mind would approve of. (This is precisely the type of crucial balance that is missing from contemporary ‘comedies’ like Blockers, where unbridled vulgarity is expected to produce the funny. It can’t).

The other very obvious strength of Skin Deep is the terrific chemistry between its stars. The screenplay demands that Ritter shines the most, but the film is definitely a team effort where everyone was on the same page and happy to contribute to it. What makes the end product even more impressive is the fact that the cast is very large and many sequences feature group performances that need to appear entirely spontaneous. They most certainly do, and a few actually replicate the brilliance of similar sequences from the classic comedy The Party.

Edwards used the services of cinematographer Isidore Mankofsky, who lensed such crowd favorites as The Muppet Movie, Somewhere in Time, Better Off Dead, and One Crazy Summer.

*Apparently, Ritter’s part was intended for Dudley Moore, who rejected it because of its supposed similarity to the one he played in Edwards’ 10.

Skin Deep Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Skin Deep arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment.

The release is sourced from a very solid organic master, but it is encoded in a way that actually makes the film appear a bit more dated than it really is. This is unfortunate because with an all-around solid encode the film would have looked rather impressive on Blu-ray. Still, the current presentation is very good. I projected the film and on my system clarity and depth usually ranged from good to very good, occasionally even excellent. Delineation could be better, especially in darker footage, but I still found it pleasing. The master is graded very nicely as well. However, there is something about the manner in which the folks at Mill Creek Entertainment encode their discs that affects color saturation and balance a bit. I don't want to speculate what it is, but if this exact master is used by a different label the film would look even lusher. The best news here is that there are absolutely no traces of problematic digital adjustments. Image stability is excellent. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Skin Deep Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clear, sharp, and very nicely balanced. The dialog is very easy to follow as well. There is some music, but you should not expect to hear any big dynamic contrasts. On the other hand, I am a little surprised that there isn't a 5.1 mix on this release because Skin Deep does feel like the kind of late '80s film that should have gotten one from the studio. There are no transfer-specific anomalies to report in our review.

Skin Deep Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Skin Deep. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Skin Deep Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The very dark but very famous scene isn't the only reason to see Skin Deep. There is a lot of quality material in this film of the kind that actually defined the cinematic legacy of its creator, Blake Edwards. I think that John Ritter is fantastic in it, but he is assisted by a tremendous supporting cast that deserves a lot of credit as well. Mill Creek Entertainment's release is sourced from an older but very solid organic master. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.