Tipifarnib in Treating Patients With Metastatic Malignant Melanoma

Inclusion Criteria: * Histological or cytological diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma and clinical evidence of distant metastatic, non-resectable regional lymphatic, or extensive in transit recurrent disease * Patients must have at least 2 cutaneous lesions amenable to excisional biopsy for correlative studies; in addition, patients must have measurable disease; the disease remaining after the first excisional biopsy must be measurable; lesions that are considered intrinsically non-measurable include the following: * Bone lesions * Leptomeningeal disease * Ascites * Pleural/pericardial effusion * Lymphangitis cutis/pulmonis * Abdominal masses that are not confirmed and followed by imaging techniques * Cystic lesions * Lesions that are situated in a previously irradiated area * No history of brain metastases * No allergies to azoles (e.g. ketoconazole) or allergies to compounds structurally similar to R115777 * No more than 1 prior immunotherapy regimen for treatment of advanced melanoma; an additional immunologic therapy in the adjuvant setting (e.g. IFN-a) is acceptable; prior chemotherapy for any stage of melanoma is not allowed * No radiotherapy or immunotherapy within four weeks prior to the initiation of therapy on this study * CTC (ECOG) performance status 0-1 * Non-pregnant, non-nursing; treatment under this protocol would expose an unborn child to significant risks; women and men of reproductive potential should agree to use an effective means of birth control; women of child-bearing age will undergo pregnancy testing * ANC \>= 1500/uL * Platelets \>= 100,000/uL * Bilirubin =\< 1.5 mg/dL * Creatinine =\< 2.0 mg/dL