Lipstick is a cheap exploitation film pretending to make a social statement about rape and revenge. Chris (Margaux Hemingway), a fashion model is raped by Gordon Stuart (Chris Sarandon) her sister's music teacher. When he tries to rape her sister Kathy (Mariel Hemingway), Chris kills him. She is tried for the crime and defended by Carla Bondi (Anne Bancroft). Margaux Hemingway, in her film debut, is dreadful, giving a wooden performance which is only matched by that of the usually interesting Chris Sarandon. Despite some discussion of this film by feminist film critics, its only saving grace is the performance of Mariel Hemingway, who is also making her debut and gives the mature and nuanced performance she would again give in Manhattan. Lipstick, trite, bloody and dishonest, pretends to condemn rape but instead sensationalizes and exploits it.
~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide