Elizabeth Banks has proven herself quite adept as a feature filmmaker, having made a Pitch Perfect movie, the vastly underrated 2019 Charlie’s Angels reboot, and 2023’s very fun horror comedy Cocaine Bear, but today’s film shows her in front of the camera once again in a leading role. Skincare, the directorial debut from filmmaker Austin Peters, is something of a a zero calorie, skinny-girl-margarita Uncut Gems. Set in a world where aesthetics are everything and beauty above all else is the goal, Skincare is a thriller where the worst thing our heroine can do is leave the house without a full face of makeup. And I had a good time! But I have some questions.

Hope Goldman (Banks) is an aesthetician to the stars, and runs a successful clinic in 2013 Los Angeles. She’s about to launch a line of beauty products, and this is a business she’s invested everything in, and this launch could make or break her. A competitor (Luis Gerardo Méndez) opens a business across the street (what Larry David/Curb Your Enthusiasm would call a ‘spite store’) and a number of alarming things start happening to Hope. A slanderous email is sent to her entire address book, and it becomes apparent that she’s being stalked by someone that seems determined to ruin her reputation. Can Hope sort this all out before her skincare line launches, or will this increasingly horrific situation escalate beyond her control?

Skincare is a candy-colored thriller that sits squarely at the intersection of biting satire and menacing thriller. It’s inspired by, but for legal reasons not based on something that happened to former aesthetician to the stars Dawn DeLuise. After reading an article about her story, judging by how this film handles it, I think she is well within her rights to seek legal action against the people who made this film. It hits so many of the beats of her story, almost specifically, but leaves out certain crucial details, the omission of which threaten to do even more damage to this poor woman’s reputation. I’ll let you seek out the specifics of DaLuise’s story after you see this film, in an effort to avoid spoilers, but I was genuinely shocked by how closely this film follows her life, and what it chooses to leave out. Allegedly, DaLuise has already hired attorneys to pursue this, so I’ll be interested to see where this all goes.

Elizabeth Banks seems born to play a role like this, one that gives her a bunch of fabulous costumes to wear, but also lets her break into pieces in real time. Her work here is just about perfect, and reminds the viewer once again what a gifted and underrated performer she is. We could have given the Lewis Pullman character some better material. We also see Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, who I remember from Ryan Murphy’s excellent series Pose, as her employee, and Nathan Fillion as the host of a morning talk show that Hope is trying to use to promote her skincare line. The great Wendie Malick also shows up in one scene.

Overall, Skincare isn’t rewriting any rules of the thriller or the Hollywood business satire, but it’s a damn good time at the movies. Especially during late summer where a lot of medium to not-that-great movies are being dumped. It’s a bit predictable, and it doesn’t keep up the high energy level established in the beginning throughout. But Peters is leaning into some very ‘80s, very lurid B-movie aesthetics here, and I was mostly here for it. I am fascinated by the making of this film, and how it’s all legally kosher, considering the filmmakers did not consult the woman whose life this story is ripping off. And I look forward to following where that story goes. But as it stands, this is a fun hour and a half at the cinema, and I’m glad I saw it. It’s a very entertaining little vehicle for Elizabeth Banks’ specific skillset, and she gets to wear some great costumes. Her performance alone makes Skincare something worth seeking out.