Jerry Bruckheimer must have thought he’d found the perfect
haven for his newest exploit, “Skin.” Nowhere else has
quite the same penchant for sleaze and cheese as FOX, and they seem
more than willing to allow Bruckheimer all the liberties imaginable
in his work. While the show reaches one goal, hooking a younger
demographic on that Bruckheimer style, it alienates more viewers
than necessary with its sub-par actors, underdeveloped plot and
sometimes tastelessly lewd scenes.
“Skin” attempts to create a modern Romeo and Juliet
story with a few added twists. When Jewel Goldman (Olivia Wilde)
and Adam Roam (D.J. Cotrona) meet, they know nothing about each
other’s families, and as teenage romance stories would have
it, they instantly fall in love.
However, after Adam’s father, the district attorney,
begins a criminal investigation into the business dealings of Larry
Goldman (Ron Silver, “Timecop”), a well-known
pornographer, things get a little more complex for the lovebirds.
Their parents forbid them to see each other, which only expands the
rift between the young and the old.
The Bruckheimer formula for success still can’t save this
piece of work. “Skin” has all the flashy lighting and
elaborate camera work of the “CSI” chain, but it lacks
the appearance of actual thought. Poorly crafted scenes and, more
importantly, poorly acted scenes are interspliced with the
oh-so-cheesy images of Jewel and Adam frolicking along a beach and
kissing amid the rippling waves. The Goldman girls in particular
leave much to be desired with their often monotonous and
apathetic-sounding dialogue.
Though the erotic scenes are probably intended to distract from
these other elements of shoddy craftsmanship, they seem only to add
to the show’s overall contemptible quality. The strip club
and Goldman’s business meetings especially push the envelope,
considering this is still prime-time network television. Scantily
clad women humping the air don’t exactly serve to break
“Skin” free from the infamous FOX reputation.
“Skin” is an interesting concept for teenage
programming, and if done with a little more style and
sophistication, it could survive as a decent series. Unfortunately,
the higher-ups prefer to test the audience’s limits than
focus on the seemingly insignificant issues of weak plotlines and
characters.
Rating: 1.5 stars.