''Perfect'' is a 1985 American

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed by

James Bridges James Bridges (February 3, 1936June 6, 1993) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and actor. He is a two-time Oscar nominee: once for Best Original Screenplay for '' The China Syndrome'' and once for Best Adapted Screenplay fo ...

and distributed by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. It was written by Aaron Latham and James Bridges and is based on a series of articles that appeared in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine in the late 1970s, chronicling the popularity of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

health clubs among single people. Its story follows journalist Adam Lawrence, who is assigned to interview a successful entrepreneur accused of dealing drugs. He is then assigned to cover a second story and decides to do an exposé on fitness clubs, where he meets an aerobics instructor named Jessie Wilson, who does not have a great deal of trust in journalists. It stars

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...

Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for List of Jamie Lee Curtis performances, her performances in the horror and slasher film, slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream qu ...

, Anne De Salvo,

Marilu Henner Marilu Henner (born April 6, 1952) is an American actress and author. She began her career appearing in the original production of the musical ''Grease (musical), Grease'' in 1971, before making her screen debut in the 1977 comedy-drama film ''B ...

Laraine Newman Laraine Newman (born March 2, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Newman was part of the original cast of NBC's sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from its inception in 1975 until her departure in 1980. Newman took an ...

, Matthew Reed, and

Jann Wenner Jann Simon Wenner ( ; born January 7, 1946) is an American businessman who co-founded the popular culture magazine ''Rolling Stone'' with Ralph J. Gleason and is the former owner of '' Men's Journal'' magazine. He participated in the Free S ...

. The film was produced by Delphi III and Pluperfect and was released on June 7, 1985. It grossed $4.2 million during its opening weekend and $12.9 million worldwide, against a budget of $20 million.

Plot

'' reporter Adam Lawrence (John Travolta) is sent from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to write an article about a businessman arrested for dealing drugs. During his stay in L.A., Adam sees a chance to collect material for another story about how "Fitness clubs are the singles bars of the '80s". He visits "The Sports Connection" a popular gym where he meets workout instructor Jessie Wilson (Jamie Lee Curtis) and asks her for an interview. Because of a previous bad experience with the press when she was a competitive swimmer, Jessie declines. Adam joins the fitness club and soon coaxes other club members to tell him about the gym and its impact on their love lives. Some, such as fun-loving Linda and Sally, are all too candid about their experiences with the opposite sex. Although she doesn't agree to be a part of his story, a romance does ultimately develop between Jessie and Adam, resulting in a moral dilemma; as a journalist he has lost his objective point of view. Jessie comes to trust him. Less cynical than before, Adam makes a determined effort to show Jessie that not all journalists are out for the cheap sensation. He writes an in-depth, fair-minded analysis of fitness clubs as a singles meeting scene. But it is deemed unacceptable by his boss, Rolling Stone's editor in chief Mark Roth (

). Adam's article is turned over to others for editing, using material supplied by his colleague Frankie, a photographer. Frankie finds an old magazine article featuring embarrassing details about a romance involving Jessie. Adam travels to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

for another assignment, unaware of the changes being made in his story; he finds out too late to stop it. This has devastating impact on Jessie, as well as on others like Sally and Linda, the latter of which was described as "the most used piece of equipment in the gym." Adam tries to explain the whole situation to Jessie, but can't. Meanwhile, he must attend a trial at which he's supposed to testify. As a reporter, using rights granted by the First Amendment, he decides not to comply with a judge who orders Adam to hand over tapes from the businessman's interview. Adam is jailed for

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...

. Jessie can see that Adam is a man of his word and believes him that he did not write the article the way it appeared in ''Rolling Stone''.

Cast

as Adam Lawrence *

as Jessie Wilson *

as Mark Roth *

as Sally Marcus *

as Linda Slater * Anne De Salvo as Frankie * Mathew Reed as Roger * John Napierala as City News Editor *

Stefan Gierasch Stefan Gierasch (February 5, 1926 – September 6, 2014) was an American film and television actor. Personal Gierasch was a native of New York and studied at The Actors Studio. Gierasch was married 33 years to actress Hedy Sontag at the time o ...

as Charlie * Ramey Ellis as City News Receptionist * Alma Beltran as Grieving Woman * Perla Walter as Grieving Woman * Gina Morelli as Grieving Woman * Philippe Delgrange as Maitre d' in New York * Tom Schiller as Carly Simon's Friend * Paul Kent as Judge * Murphy Dunne as Peckerman *

Kenneth Welsh Kenneth Clifford Welsh, (March 30, 1942 – May 5, 2022) was a Canadian actor, who made over 300 stage, film, and television appearances over a nearly 60-year career. Educated at the National Theatre School, he was a member of the Stratford S ...

as Joe McKenzie * Michael Laskin as Government Prosecutor * Robert Stark as Government Prosecutor * Laurie Burton as Mrs. McKenzie * Ann Travolta as Mary * Nanette Pattee-Francini as Nanete * Steven J. Zmed as hypochondriacal hustler * Robin Samuel as Robin * Robert Parr as Robert * Rosalind Ingledew as Sterling * Chelsea Field as Randy * Paul Barresi as naturally muscled gym patron * Kenny Griswold as Kenny * Ronnie Claire Edwards as Melody Wilson * Julie Fulton as Marta Young *

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...

as herself *

Lauren Hutton Lauren Hutton (born Mary Laurence Hutton; November 17, 1943) is an American model and actress. Born and raised in the southern United States, Hutton relocated to New York City in her early adulthood to begin a modeling career. Though she was ini ...

as herself

Reception

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote that the film "is too superficially knowing to be a camp classic, but it's an unintentionally hilarious mixture of muddled moralizing and all-too-contemporary self-promotion," and noted that "Rolling Stone receives more reverent treatment in 'Perfect' than

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

received in '

All the President's Men ''All the President's Men'' is a 1974 non-fiction book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, two of the journalists who investigated the June 1972 break-in at the Watergate Office Building and the resultant political scandal for ''The Washingto ...

.'" '' Variety'' wrote, "Set in the world of journalism, pic is guilty of the sins it condemns — superficiality, manipulation and smugness. On any level, 'Perfect' is an embarrassment and unlikely to satisfy any audience."

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "What's missing is any real development of a relationship between Travolta and Curtis. Yes, she bawls him out a couple of times about his journalism techniques, but all is forgotten in the film's happy-go-lucky ending that also cheaps out what has gone on before." Sheila Benson of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' stated of the film that "any claim its makers, producer-director James Bridges and co-writer Aaron Latham, have to seriousness dissolves as the film becomes more voyeuristic and manipulative than the profession it indicts," adding that "Travolta performs with no edge to his character whatsoever, and the direction further confuses things by never letting us understand whether he's generally unprincipled or just a regular guy who from time to time does lousy things." Paul Attanasio of ''

'' called the film "a trashy movie about women jumping up and down in leotards, but it's also more (and less) than that, a look at the wages of the free press. Despite a number of fine performances, a few good hoots and more daunting bodies, it's far from perfect. It touts the First Amendment like a corny romance from the '40s—stars and stripes in spandex." Paul Willistein of ''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second-longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. The newspaper is owned by Alden Global Capital ...

'' wrote, "'Perfect' isn't perfect, but it at least tries to inject some serious themes into a movie that is essentially summer fluff." ''Perfect'' was nominated for three

Golden Raspberry Awards The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzi ...

: Worst Actor (John Travolta), Worst Supporting Actress (Marilu Henner) and Worst Screenplay. The movie was nominated for a Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Picture. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

it has an 18% rating based on reviews from 17 critics, with an average rating of 3.6 out of 10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

it has a weighted average score of 46% based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reivews".In a 1994 interview with ''Rolling Stone'' magazine,

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

called the movie "woefully underappreciated." The film is listed in

Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John ...

founder John Wilson's book '' The Official Razzie Movie Guide'' as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. On October 16, 2015, the film was covered on the podcast for bad movies '' How Did This Get Made?''

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to ''Perfect'' was initially released in 1985 as a 12" vinyl record, and later re-released on CD. ;Side A # "(Closest Thing To) Perfect" (

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun (né Jackson; born December 11, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist. He is known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the ...

) – 3:50 # "I Sweat (Going Through the Motions)" ( Nona Hendryx) – 3:54 # "All Systems Go" ( Pointer Sisters) – 3:48 # "Shock Me" (

and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

) – 5:08 # "

Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" is the debut single by English pop duo Wham! on Innervision Records, released on 11 June 1982. It was written by Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. History "Wham Rap!" was the first song written by ...

" (

Wham! Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to ...

) – 4:43 ;Side B # "Wear Out the Grooves" (

Jermaine Stewart William Jermaine Stewart (September 7, 1957 – March 17, 1997) was an American R&B singer, best known for his 1986 hit single " We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off", which peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also peaked w ...

) – 4:33 # "Hot Hips" (

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

) – 3:33 # "Talking to the Wall" ( Dan Hartman) – 3:59 # "Masquerade" (

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

) – 3:48 # " Lay Your Hands on Me" (

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were an English Pop music, pop band, formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a New wave music, new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the early and mid-1980s, scori ...

) – 4:11

Filming locations

* "Sports Connection" fitness center scenes were filmed in the actual Sports Connection fitness club in Santa Monica located at 2929 31st Street, now a 24 Hour Fitness. * In the opening scene, the camera pans in on The Jersey Journal sign in

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perfect (Film) 1985 films 1985 romantic drama films American romantic drama films 1980s English-language films Films about journalists Films based on newspaper and magazine articles Rolling Stone Films directed by James Bridges Films scored by Ralph Burns Films set in Los Angeles Columbia Pictures films Films about Olympic swimming and diving Films about the 1980 Summer Olympics Films about computing 1980s American films English-language romantic drama films