When you head to a spa for the day, you can expect to be prodded and pampered in all the best ways. But when you head to the theater to see the new Skincare movie, you walk away with your heart pumping and maybe have a little glow to your skin. I promise this is not the movie you were expecting.
Let’s say you wanted to make a movie set in Hollywood that was peripherally focused on skincare and aesthetics. You might expect it to be pink and shiny with a dewy starlet leading the cast. It would probably be a little racy and a little zany and oh-so-LA. Thankfully that’s not at all what the movie Skincare delivers.
We’ll start with the plotline. A successful aesthetician, Hope Goldman, finds her business on decidedly shaky grounds after sinking everything she has into launching her very own skincare line. She’s set to rise to the occasion when a new tenant moves into the business complex – another aesthetician, Angel Vergara, with his own innovative skincare services.
This could have easily turned into a caricature of Hollywood with the rival aestheticians playing off of each other to see who can sink to a new low before they find they really have common ground. But that’s not where this story goes.
Instead, Hope Goldman spirals into madness as she finds herself being anonymously stalked. At every turn, it seems someone is bent on destroying her personally and professionally. And Hope assumes that it surely must be her rival Angel and takes action accordingly.
Does this story sound familiar? To some, especially those on the LA beauty scene, it might. The Skincare movie is considered to be loosely based on the real life drama of Beverly Hills celebrity facialist Dawn DaLuise.
If you like a good story, you’ll find this true-crime-like fictional tale satisfies you with all the solid elements of a good story. The stage is set, the stakes are high, especially for Hope Goldman. But it’s the characters that make this movie.
When you think of a leading lady, you might not immediately think of Elizabeth Banks, most notably known, to me anyway, for her roles in Pitch Perfect and The Hunger Games. She’s got a face that you’ve seen a million times but can never remember where. This movie, however, makes her memorable.
As Hope Goldman, the successful middle aged aesthetician, Banks portrays a woman who’s well-kept but on the brink of crumbling. You definitely don’t love her but you don’t hate her either. You can both empathize and cringe, all thanks to her mastery of the character.
Likewise, you’ll see a great acting turn for Lewis Pullman, who we’ve seen in Outer Range, Lessons in Chemistry, and Top Gun: Maverick. As her new confidante and sometime life coach, Jordan (Pullman) is there to guide Hope through her series of misfortunes. But where he’s guiding her is another question.
What I loved about the Skincare movie is that it didn’t follow the modern day formula of THEN THIS HAPPENED but wait a second NOW THERE’S A TWIST. This is a solid suspense story told from start to finish without any big gotcha moments (there are some small ones though) with characters that know how to tell it with acting rather than gimmicks.
Keep your eye out for Nathan Fillion as a local news anchor (think Good Day LA), Erik Palladino who has a commanding presence as local mechanic Armen, and Luis Gerardo Méndez, who IMDB calls one of Mexico’s biggest stars, as rival aesthetician Angel Vergera, .
Now, let’s talk about the rating. Before heading out to the theater, make sure you’re comfortable with a little male nudity. Okay, fine. There’s a d*ck pic. I just had to say it because if you can’t handle hearing that, this movie might not be for you. But don’t let the R rating scare you. Hope’s stalking and harassment is sexual in nature but never terribly overt.
It’s a great movie to catch on streaming but on the big screen, you’ll appreciate the grittier cinematography, giving a decidedly unglamorous view of the people that cater to the glamorous.
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