A dazzling John Travolta, a barely dressed Jamie Lee Curtis grooving in an aerobics class, an 80s movie with a $20 million budget — what could possibly go wrong?
Well, a lot, as it turns out.
Here’s the tale of the film that seemed perfect but ended up missing the mark for several surprising reasons.
When John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis were announced as the stars of Perfect in 1985, not many people thought the film would fail. Both were at the top of their game, loved by fans and in high demand in Hollywood.
With director James Bridges leading the way and Columbia Pictures investing a whopping $20 million into the film, it looked like a sure success. But when the movie was finally released, it turned out to be one of the biggest letdowns in Hollywood history. It only made $12.9 million worldwide.
Perfect was also nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards, which included Worst Actor (Travolta), Worst Supporting Actress (Marilu Henner), and Worst Screenplay —ouch! Plus, it even got a 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 is given the task of interviewing a successful entrepreneur suspected of drug dealing. However, it’s his second assignment — an exposé on fitness clubs — that leads him to Jessie Wilson (Jamie Lee Curtis), an aerobics instructor who really doesn’t like journalists.
So, what went wrong? Let’s explore the mistakes and fun facts that turned this film into a perfect disaster.
Some critics labeled Perfect as one of the most unintentionally campy films of the 1980s, filled with strange choices that made it both silly and oddly interesting. From John Travolta’s way-too-revealing gym shorts to the countless shots of aerobics classes that felt like softcore fitness porn, the film had a weird energy that critics couldn’t overlook.
One famous aerobics scene — filled with more pelvic thrusts than anyone thought was possible — probably earned the movie its R rating. Jamie Lee Curtis didn’t take this well, but we’ll talk more about that later in the article.
All the gym scenes, which included unnecessary close-ups of crotches and shiny bodies, only added to what some called 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, giving one of the toughest critiques on Perfect:
“On any level, ‘Perfect’ is an embarrassment and unlikely to satisfy any audience.
Today, when people think of Perfect, they often picture Jamie Lee Curtis as the top aerobics instructor. She played Jessie Wilson, a confident and charming workout expert, and quickly became a sex symbol, winning over audiences with her athletic skills and lively spirit.
Jamie Lee Curtis was thrilled to be in the movie, saying, “I’m an athletic person, a bit of a closet jock. Whenever I took an exercise class, I would picture myself leading one. While I found the story interesting, I was mostly excited about working with these amazing people.”
She practiced for months before filming started, and they shot all the aerobics scenes first, then moved on to the dramatic parts. By the time they filmed the last workout scene during the credits, Curtis, who only ate one meal a day, had actually lost 10 pounds of muscle.
Plus, she even made a music video with Jermaine Jackson to promote the movie. Now that’s dedication!
John Travolta was a big deal in the mid-1980s—at least, he had been just a few years before. 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 sensation.
However, by the time Perfect (1985) came out, his career had started to slow down. Even though it was a box-office flop that temporarily affected John Travolta’s career, he has no regrets about being in Perfect.
For him, the opportunity to work with director James Bridges again and the friendships he made with the cast were the best parts.
On the other hand, critics were not very nice, with some even saying, “Honestly, the entire movie feels like just a collection of scenes with Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta exercising.”
After Perfect, John Travolta took a surprising break from acting, not coming back until 1989 with The Experts and Look Who’s Talking. It took four years before fans saw him in another movie, which was one of the longest breaks in his acting career.
When director James Bridges started making Perfect, which was based on Aaron Latham’s script about a Rolling Stone reporter, the plan was to film for 81 days. But that schedule quickly changed, and the movie ended up taking an incredible 140 days to finish.
Jamie Lee Curtis, who was used to the quick pace of low-budget films, wasn’t really happy about the long timeline. In a 1984 interview with The Boston Globe, she joked:
“This hasn’t been the quickest production I’ve ever been a part of. We could probably have filmed every movie I’ve ever done in the time it’s taken to make this one.”
Another indication of how much money and time was spent on the film: Since it was not practical to film the Rolling Stone scenes at the magazine’s office in New York, a nearly identical, two-story replica of the offices was constructed on two soundstages at Laird International Studios in Los Angeles.
However, director James Bridges defended the long process, saying:
“When everything is finished, and we’re ready to show the movie, that will be the real test – if it’s good, then we didn’t take too long to film. But if it’s bad, no amount of time can fix it. The audience will tell us at the box office.”
Today, we know the answer.
One of the most unexpected performances in Perfect didn’t come from a Hollywood star — it came from Jann Wenner, the real co-founder and editor of Rolling Stone magazine. Playing Mark Roth, who is Travolta’s editor in the movie, Wenner added a level of realism that even experienced actors couldn’t match.
Wenner didn’t just show up on set and get the part—he actually went through a complete screen test with John Travolta! And when he was asked how true to life the film was, he was honest:
“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 wanted the movie to clear up some misunderstandings 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 title Perfect mean to Jamie Lee Curtis? For her, it wasn’t about being flawless but about having 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 buzz about the film often focused on Jamie Lee Curtis and was often: “You’ve got to see her body!”
The aerobics scenes in Perfect (1985) became famous for being suggestive, with Jamie Lee Curtis wearing leotards that were sometimes revealing and even nearly see-through.
Her exercises, which involved hip movements and pelvis thrusts, were viewed by many as crossing the line from just suggestive to really inappropriate.
Curtis was open about her disappointment regarding how these scenes were portrayed.
View this post on Instagram
“They’re meant to be substitute love scenes,” she said in a 1984 interview in New York. “But in a way, the scenes feel almost more pornographic than if I were naked. It’s my big disappointment (about the movie). I think the scenes go on for too long. And because the point of them is emphasized so much, I think maybe if you saw (me) making love, it might come off as a bit softer.”
When Curtis requested that the scenes be shortened, she was told they had already been cut down. This behind-the-scenes reality about the well-known aerobics parts shows how the film’s provocative aspects were more than just part of the plot — they became a main focus, which Curtis found annoying.
Even with her famous role, Jamie Lee Curtis had more important worries than just being seen as a sex symbol. As she honestly shared, “That’s been my biggest issue ever since I started… I never had any acting training.
But I was 18 and I did this little horror movie (Halloween) that turned out to be a massive hit.” Curtis went on to explain how she ended up doing more horror films and even some nude scenes, but she promised that in the future, “that’s going to be something I negotiate.”
View this post on Instagram
In a 1985 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Jamie Lee Curtis mentioned that after being nude in two earlier films, she felt relieved that her part in Perfect didn’t need nudity. She wished that her days of taking off her clothes on screen were over — and they were. Except for a quick glimpse of her nipple in The Tailor of Panama (2001), she hasn’t been nude on screen again as of November 2021.
Even though Perfect got a lot of negative feedback and bad reviews when it came out, it has developed a cult following since then.
It’s even included in John Wilson’s The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of ”The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.”
Quentin Tarantino also complimented the film in a 1994 Rolling Stone interview, saying it was ”greatly under-appreciated due to Curtis’ very tight performance.” Not too bad!
Almost forty years after her role in Perfect, Jamie Lee Curtis showed she still has the moves – and a fantastic sense of humor too. Joining Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, Curtis brought back the famous aerobics scene from the 1985 movie, performing the hip-thrusting dance in a funny and exaggerated way.
Set to Jermaine Jackson and Whitney Houston’s 1985 song “Shock Me,” the skit begins with Curtis in her classic striped one-piece as she leads an aerobics class. Fallon, taking on John Travolta’s role, works up a sweat next to her, copying the well-known moves – and yes, there’s a lot of thrusting happening.
The comedy got even crazier when Fallon sent Curtis a video of his own dance moves. Curtis, always the professional, pulled out her phone from her tight outfit and blew him a kiss, then playfully ate pizza and poured champagne all over herself. Of course, she kept up with her hip rolls without missing a beat.
The duo took things up a notch with even more outrageous antics, ending with Fallon releasing a dove from his shorts and Curtis bringing in a defibrillator to get a “dead body” to join the fun. Fallon, clearly amazed by the original scene, joked about its length: “That scene went on – I’m not kidding – for like five minutes, right?”
To which Curtis, laughing, responded, “No, no, that scene went on like seven minutes!”
It’s obvious that Curtis hasn’t lost her skills – or her humor – showing that even after all these years, her Perfect aerobics scene will always be memorable.
I’m not saying that Perfect is a great movie, but I believe it’s better than what people usually think. I’ve always liked both John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis, and they have a special charm in this film. What really caught me off guard, though, was learning how Jamie Lee Curtis actually felt about those famous aerobics scenes.
I had no clue she felt so mixed about them! It’s interesting how something that was supposed to be fun and sexy turned out to be something she wasn’t completely okay with. I mean, it’s easy to see why the scene could be seen as a fun part, but hearing her talk about it makes me think: should we change how we look at these kinds of scenes in old movies? Maybe it’s time for a deeper conversation. What do you think?
