The Spectacular Failure and Cult Legacy of the 1985 Film Perfect
The film Perfect seemingly had every ingredient needed for a blockbuster: an all-star cast, an esteemed director, a massive budget, and a storyline capitalizing on the decade’s fitness obsession. However, despite these advantages, it turned into one of Hollywood’s most notorious commercial failures, confusing both critics and moviegoers.
In 1985, John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis were enjoying the peaks of their respective careers when they signed onto Perfect. Travolta was already a pop culture phenomenon following Saturday Night Fever and Grease, and Curtis had established herself as an A-list talent and horror icon. Columbia Pictures invested a staggering $20 million into the movie—a massive budget for that era. Directed by James Bridges, famous for The China Syndrome, anticipation was incredibly high. Yet, upon hitting theaters, the movie bombed, grossing a mere $12.9 million globally.
To make matters worse, Perfect racked up three Golden Raspberry Award nominations, including Worst Actor for Travolta, Worst Supporting Actress for Marilu Henner, and Worst Screenplay. It also landed a Worst Picture nomination at the notorious Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. The plot centered on Adam Lawrence (Travolta), a reporter investigating health clubs who falls in love with aerobics instructor Jessie Wilson (Curtis). It was designed to reflect the era’s fitness craze but instead became a prime example of a cinematic disaster.
Critics were left scratching their heads at the film’s execution. Perfect was packed with bizarre creative decisions, ranging from highly stylized workout scenes to cringe-inducing dialogue. Travolta’s scantily clad gym attire became an accidental talking point, while the aerobics sequences—featuring relentless pelvic thrusting—were unintentionally hilarious. Many found it impossible to view the movie seriously. The New York Times encapsulated the sentiment by dubbing Perfect “one of the most unintentionally campy films of the decade.”
The movie’s soundtrack only added to its bizarre vibe. Showcasing tracks from Whitney Houston, Jermaine Jackson, Berlin, and Wham!, the music heightened the film’s neon-drenched, hyper-sexualized look, making it resemble an extended, sweaty music video rather than a serious drama. Reviewers pointed out a “weird gay vibe,” stemming from the frequent close-ups of muscular, sweaty bodies in tight leotards. Variety offered a particularly scathing review, declaring, “On any level, Perfect is an embarrassment and unlikely to satisfy any audience.”
A surprising element of the production was Jamie Lee Curtis’s intense physical transformation. Showing immense dedication, she trained tirelessly to become Jessie Wilson, the quintessential aerobics teacher. Before cameras rolled, she endured months of strict workouts and restricted her diet to a single meal per day. By the time the final credits’ aerobics scene was shot, she had shed 10 pounds of muscle. Curtis even starred in a promotional music video alongside Jermaine Jackson. Yet, despite her unwavering commitment, Perfect did not provide the career elevation she had hoped for.
In contrast, John Travolta seemed remarkably unfazed by the movie’s poor reception. Even though Perfect was a financial disaster that momentarily stalled his career trajectory, he harbored no regrets about accepting the part. For him, reuniting with director James Bridges and the friendships he built during production made it all worthwhile. Critics, however, were much harsher, with many arguing that the movie essentially boiled down to “a bunch of scenes of Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta working out.”
After the disappointment of Perfect, Travolta stepped away from Hollywood for a significant period. He didn’t make his big-screen return until 1989 with The Experts and Look Who’s Talking. This hiatus was one of the longest in his acting history, underscoring the severe impact Perfect had on his professional life.
The making of Perfect was notoriously plagued by scheduling overruns. Originally slated as an 81-day shoot, production dragged on for an exhausting 140 days. Curtis, who was used to the swift pace of low-budget filmmaking, openly expressed her annoyance with the delays. Speaking to The Boston Globe in 1984, she joked, “This hasn’t been the fastest production I’ve ever worked on. We could probably have shot every movie I’ve ever made in the time it’s taken to do this one.”
An intriguing footnote about Perfect was the casting of Jann Wenner, the actual co-founder and editor of Rolling Stone. Portraying Travolta’s boss, Wenner underwent a formal screen test to secure the part. He maintained that the movie was “dead-on accurate” in depicting the journalistic operations at Rolling Stone. Unfortunately, Perfect did little to boost the publication’s prestige, as the sensationalized fitness scenes completely eclipsed the journalistic plotline.
For Curtis, the film carried a more profound significance. She interpreted the title not as a nod to bodily perfection, but as an emblem of personal liberty. “There is no such thing as being perfect,” she noted in an interview. “Perfection is the right that people have to be whatever they want to be.” While this underlying message held meaning for Curtis, it was completely overshadowed by the movie’s most notorious feature—the aerobics classes.
The workout montages in Perfect gained infamy for their sexually suggestive choreography. Curtis’s routines, featuring tight leotards and aggressive hip thrusts, were deemed excessively provocative and borderline erotic. Looking back, Curtis confessed her deep discomfort with the direction of those scenes. “They’re supposed to be substitute love scenes,” she clarified in a 1984 interview. “But in a way, the scenes are almost more pornographic than if I were naked.”
When she requested that the sequences be dialed back, production informed her they already had been. Her frustration mirrored a broader systemic problem in Hollywood, where women’s roles were frequently sexualized without the actor’s consent. Following this experience, Curtis would demand greater creative control over her characters, eventually pivoting away from films that demanded nudity or exploitative content.
In spite of its initial disastrous reception, Perfect has gradually acquired a cult following. John Wilson’s The Official Razzie Movie Guide included it among “The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.” Furthermore, legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has expressed fondness for the movie, labeling it “greatly under-appreciated” and commending Curtis’s acting.
Curtis herself has eventually come to terms with the film’s campy legacy. In a highly entertaining appearance on The Tonight Show, she partnered with host Jimmy Fallon to parody the infamous aerobics routine. Donning her classic leotard, Curtis guided Fallon through an over-the-top, thrust-filled workout. The skit was filled with ridiculous gags, from Fallon unleashing a live dove from his shorts to Curtis dramatically drinking champagne mid-exercise. It served as a brilliant reminder that even universally panned movies can leave a lasting cultural footprint.
In retrospect, Perfect may fall far short of cinematic greatness, but its history is significantly more captivating than its negative reputation implies. Travolta and Curtis infused their characters with genuine charm, and the film successfully encapsulated a distinct era of 1980s pop culture. Even if Curtis’s aerobics scenes once caused her regret, they are undeniably iconic—securing Perfect a permanent, albeit quirky, spot in Hollywood history.
What are your thoughts? Should Perfect be reassessed as a beloved cult classic, or has it rightfully earned its status as one of Hollywood’s ultimate cinematic misfires?
