A stunning John Travolta, a scantily clad Jamie Lee Curtis dancing in an aerobics class, an 80s film with a $20 million budget — what could possibly go wrong?
Well, quite a lot, as it turns out.
Here’s the story of the film that had all the makings of perfection but ultimately fell short for a number of surprising reasons.
When John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis were announced as the stars of Perfect in 1985, few could have predicted the film would flop. Both were at the peak of their careers, beloved by audiences and highly sought after in Hollywood.
With director James Bridges at the helm and Columbia Pictures sinking a hefty $20 million into the project, it seemed like a guaranteed hit. But fast forward to the film’s release, and it became one of the biggest disappointments in Hollywood history. It only grossed $12.9 million worldwide.
Perfect was also nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Actor (Travolta), Worst Supporting Actress (Marilu Henner), and Worst Screenplay —ouch! Not to mention its nod for Worst Picture at the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards.
For those who might have forgotten, Perfect tells the story of journalist Adam Lawrence, who’s assigned to interview a successful entrepreneur suspected of dealing drugs. But it’s his second assignment — an exposé on fitness clubs — that leads him to Jessie Wilson (Jamie Lee Curtis), an aerobics instructor who’s got no love for journalists.
So, what went wrong? Let’s dive into the mistakes and fun facts that made this film a perfect disaster.
Way-too-revealing gym shorts
Some critics called Perfect one of the most unintentionally campy films of the 1980s, packed with bizarre choices that made it both ridiculous and strangely fascinating. From John Travolta’s way-too-revealing gym shorts to the endless shots of aerobics classes that felt like softcore fitness porn, the film exuded a strange energy that critics couldn’t ignore.
One famous aerobics scene — packed with more pelvic thrusts than anyone thought possible — likely earned the movie its R rating. This was not well received by Jamie Lee Curtis, but we’ll get into that later in the article.
All the gym sequences, featuring gratuitous close-ups of crotches and glistening bodies, only added to what some described as the movie’s “weird gay vibe”—complete with a soundtrack featuring Whitney Houston, Jermaine Jackson, Berlin, and Wham.
Variety didn’t hold back in its review, delivering one of the harshest verdicts on Perfect:
“On any level, ‘Perfect’ is an embarrassment and unlikely to satisfy any audience.”
How Jamie Lee Curtis lost 10 pounds of muscle
Today, if people remember Perfect for anything, it’s Jamie Lee Curtis as the ultimate aerobics instructor. Playing Jessie Wilson, the confident and charismatic workout guru, she became an instant sex symbol, captivating audiences with her athleticism and energy
Jamie Lee Curtis was excited to be part of the movie, revealing, ”I’m an athletic person, a minor sort of closet jock. Whenever I would take an exercise class, I would imagine myself giving one. But while I was certainly intrigued by the story, I was mostly excited about working with these people.”
She trained for months before shooting began and all the aerobics scenes were filmed first, followed by the dramatic parts. By the time they filmed the final workout scene during the credits, Curtis, who only ate one meal a day, had actually lost 10 pounds of muscle.
Oh, and she even filmed a music video with Jermaine Jackson to promote the movie. Talk about dedication!
John Travolta doesn’t regret doing it
John Travolta was huge in the mid-1980s—at least, he had been just a few years earlier. By the late ’70s, he was one of the biggest movie stars in the world, thanks to Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1978). He was a pop culture icon, a heartthrob, and a box office powerhouse.
However, by the time Perfect (1985) rolled around, his career had started to cool off. Despite being a box-office failure that temporarily slowed down John Travolta’s career, he has no regrets about taking part in Perfect.
For him, the chance to work with director James Bridges again and the friendships he formed with the cast were the highlights.
On the flip side, critics weren’t so kind, with some even remarking, ”Honestly, the whole movie feels like just a bunch of scenes of Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta working out.”
Following Perfect, John Travolta took an unexpected break from the big screen, not returning until 1989 with The Experts and Look Who’s Talking. It would be four years before audiences saw him in another film, marking one of the longest gaps in his acting career.
The longest shoot ever?
When director James Bridges set out to make Perfect, an adaptation of Aaron Latham’s script about a Rolling Stone reporter, the production was planned to last 81 days. That schedule was quickly thrown out the window, and the film ended up taking a whopping 140 days to complete.
Jamie Lee Curtis, who was used to the fast-paced world of low-budget filmmaking, wasn’t exactly thrilled about the extended timeline. In a 1984 interview with The Boston Globe, 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.”
Another sign of how much money and time was spent on the film: Since it was impractical to shoot the Rolling Stone sequences at the magazine’s headquarters in New York, a nearly identical, two-story replica of the offices was built on two soundstages at Laird International Studios in Los Angeles.
Director James Bridges, however, defended the lengthy process, saying:
“When all is said and done, when everything is put together and we’re ready to show the movie, that will be the real test – if it’s right, then we didn’t take too much time to shoot. But if it’s wrong, no amount of time in the world can save it. The people will let us know at the box office.”
Today, we know the answer.
The real star of the movie
One of the most surprising performances in Perfect didn’t come from a Hollywood actor — it came from Jann Wenner, the actual co-founder and editor of Rolling Stone magazine. Playing Mark Roth, Travolta’s editor in the film, Wenner brought a level of authenticity that even seasoned actors couldn’t match.
Wenner didn’t just walk onto set and get the role—he actually went through a full screen test alongside John Travolta! And when asked how realistic the film was, he didn’t hold back:
”Dead-on accurate. There are naturally some liberties taken, but Jim’s movies are all somewhat journalistic in that they look at a scene and report it accurately.”
Wenner also hoped the movie would clear up some misconceptions about Rolling Stone, saying:
”I think the film shows Rolling Stone as it really is. I think that the movie will explain Rolling Stone to a lot of people who may have misconceptions about what it is.”
Whether Perfect actually did that is up for debate — but Wenner’s performance? Surprisingly solid.
What did the Perfect title mean
What did the title Perfect mean to Jamie Lee Curtis? For her, it wasn’t about flawlessness but about personal freedom.
She explained: ”There is no such thing as being perfect, but I think that perfection is the right that people have to be whatever they want to be. That’s what’s perfect in my eyes. And the fact that people are entitled to that right is what [my character] Jessie stands up for in the movie. Defending one’s right to be whatever you want to be is what Jessie Wilson is all about.”
”Perfect” was a very commercial yuppie drama about journalism and health clubs, but the word-of-mouth about the picture is was often centered around Jamie Lee Curtis and to be: ”You`ve got to see her body!”
Sad truth about the aerobic scene
The aerobics scenes in Perfect (1985) became notorious for their suggestive nature, with Jamie Lee Curtis wearing leotards that ranged from revealing to almost transparent.
Her hip-bending, pelvis-thrusting exercises in these scenes were seen by many as pushing the boundaries, from being merely suggestive to downright lewd.
Curtis herself was candid about her disappointment with the way these scenes were handled.
”They’re supposed to be substitute love scenes,” she explained in a 1984 interview in New York. ”But in a way, the scenes are almost more pornographic than if I were naked. It’s my big disappointment (about the picture). I think the scenes are held on too long. And because the point of them is held on and drilled home so hard, I think maybe if you saw (me) making love, it might be a little softer.”
When Curtis asked for the scenes to be cut down, she was told that they already had been. This behind-the-scenes truth about the infamous aerobics sequences shows how the film’s provocative elements were more than just part of the storyline — they became a focal point, which Curtis found frustrating.
Her last ”nude” scene?
Despite her iconic role, Jamie Lee Curtis had bigger concerns than just her sex symbol status. As she candidly explained, “That’s been my biggest problem ever since I started… I never had any training as an actress.
But I was 18 and I did this little horror film (Halloween) that became a huge, huge hit.” Curtis went on to talk about how she ended up doing more horror films, and even doing nude scenes, but promised that moving forward, ”that’s going to be a negotiated item for me.”
In a 1985 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Jamie Lee Curtis shared that after appearing nude in two previous films, she was relieved her role in Perfect didn’t require nudity. She hoped her days of stripping on screen were behind her — and they were. Aside from a brief flash of nipple in The Tailor of Panama (2001), she has not appeared nude on screen again as of November 2021.
Quentin Tarantino’s unexpected review
Despite Perfect receiving harsh criticism and poor reviews upon release, it has since gained a cult following.
It’s even listed in John Wilson’s The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of ”The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.”
Quentin Tarantino also praised the film in a 1994 Rolling Stone interview, calling it ”greatly under-appreciated due to Curtis’ very tight performance.” Not too shabby!
Recreating her iconic aerobic routine
Nearly four decades after starring in Perfect, Jamie Lee Curtis proved she’s still got the moves – and she’s got a great sense of humor to go with them. Teaming up with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, Curtis recreated the legendary aerobics scene from the 1985 film, bringing the hip-thrusting choreography back to life in a hilarious and over-the-top routine.
Set to Jermaine Jackson and Whitney Houston’s 1985 hit “Shock Me,” the skit starts with Curtis rocking her signature striped one-piece as she leads an aerobics class. Fallon, stepping into John Travolta’s shoes, sweats it out alongside her, mimicking the infamous moves – and yes, there’s plenty of thrusting involved.
The comedy took a turn for the absurd when Fallon decided to send Curtis a video of his own dance moves. Curtis, ever the pro, whipped out her phone from her skin-tight outfit and blew him a kiss, before sensually munching on pizza and pouring champagne all over herself. Naturally, she didn’t skip a beat with her hip rolls.
The pair took things to another level with even more wild antics, culminating in Fallon releasing a dove from his shorts and Curtis bringing a defibrillator into the mix to get a “dead body” to join the routine. Fallon, clearly impressed by the original, joked about the scene’s length: “That scene went on – I’m not kidding – for like five minutes, right?”
To which Curtis, laughing, replied, “No, no, that scene went on like seven minutes!”
It’s clear that Curtis hasn’t lost her touch – or her sense of humor – proving that even decades later, her Perfect aerobics scene will always be one for the books.
I’m not going to claim that Perfect is a cinematic masterpiece, but I do think it’s better than its reputation suggests. I’ve always been a fan of both John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis, and there’s a certain charm to their performances here. What really surprised me, though, was discovering just how Jamie Lee Curtis truly felt about those infamous aerobics scenes.
I had no idea she had such mixed feelings about them! It’s fascinating how something that was meant to be playful and sexy ended up being something she wasn’t totally comfortable with. I mean, it’s easy to see how the scene could’ve been considered a fun moment, but hearing her talk about it makes me wonder: should we rethink how we view these types of scenes in retro movies? Maybe it’s time for a more nuanced discussion. What do you think?
