Release Date – 11th November 2024, Cert – 18, Run-time – 1 hour 36 minutes, Director – Austin Peters
Beautician Hope Goldman (Elizabeth Banks) is about to launch her own skincare brand, however when a rival clinic opens across the street at the same time as she receives threatening messages from an unknown number she’ll do anything to get her life back on track.
“Beauty is a cutthroat business” claims beautician Hope Goldman (Elizabeth Banks). She’s days away from the big launch of her skincare brand and her words are about to prove more true than she would expect. At the same time as a rival skincare clinic opens opposite hers she begins to receive threatening messages from an unknown number. She wants answers, and control. To know that her future, and that of her brand and store, are going to be safe – with that safety locked in as soon as possible so that everything is back on track for the big day.
As her regular customers, and friends, begin to drift away to the store of Angel Vergara (Luis Gerardo Méndez) in the wake of inappropriate emails sent from her account Hope begins to suspect her new rival of sabotaging her. Trying her best to prove it she finds the help of increasingly conceited life coach Jordan (Lewis Pullman) who she starts to form a relationship with as her life and relationship start to crumble. As things grow the tension successfully rises making for a quietly gripping thriller aspect to this comedically-edged film.
The laughs certainly manage to come through in a good few scenes along the way, and there’s a good deal of fun to be found throughout. As the third act unravels, and indeed before, while it’s clear where things are going to go I still sat there with a smile placed on my face from the simple entertainment factor of the film alone. One that doesn’t seem to be trying too hard to make additional comments and places its simplistic but enjoyable narrative first and foremost.
When a film such as this is done so effectively the familiar beats or predictable elements don’t seem to matter as much. They may not add to the enjoyment in a case such as this, but it’s testament to the entertaining nature of the film that it gets away with these beats. Helped by a cast, particular Banks on very good form as her character’s veil of calmness becomes increasingly fractured, who each work well together and convey the growing chaos, and worry, in Hope’s life as a set of bad turns and decisions escalates everything beyond the damage that’s already been done to her reputation by mysterious figures. But, surely a free pamper session in her clinic can sort it all out?
At just 96 minutes Skincare certainly doesn’t outstay its welcome and appears to know that as close to 90 minutes is the perfect run-time for a film such as this. Filling that duration with a solidly entertaining thriller that puts the entertainment factor and narrative first and foremost. Creating a good deal of rising tension alongside the occasional laughs to simply make for an effective comedic thriller which provides enough amusement for it to get around some of its predictable problems.
While it’s clear where Skincare’s going there’s an enjoyable enough time thanks to the laughs and well-executed tension, both effectively portrayed by Elizabeth Banks, that these points can easily be put to one side by the entertainment factor.
Just A Little Bit Random 