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The film Perfect had all the ingredients for success—a star-studded cast, a respected director, a hefty budget, and a subject that tapped into the fitness craze of the 1980s. Yet, despite all these elements, it became one of Hollywood’s biggest flops, leaving audiences and critics alike baffled.

John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis were at the height of their careers when they were cast in Perfect in 1985. Travolta had already solidified his status as a cultural icon with hits like Saturday Night Fever and Grease, while Curtis had carved a niche for herself as both a horror queen and a rising A-list actress.

Columbia Pictures poured a whopping $20 million into the production, an enormous sum for the time. With James Bridges directing—best known for The China Syndrome—expectations were high. Yet, upon its release, the film struggled at the box office, earning only $12.9 million worldwide.

Adding insult to injury, Perfect was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Actor (Travolta), Worst Supporting Actress (Marilu Henner), and Worst Screenplay. It even received a nod for Worst Picture at the infamous Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. The film, which followed journalist Adam Lawrence (Travolta) as he investigated fitness clubs and fell for aerobics instructor Jessie Wilson (Curtis), was intended to capture the pulse of a fitness-obsessed generation. Instead, it became a textbook case of how a film can go terribly wrong.

Many critics were baffled by the execution. The film was filled with awkward creative choices, from overly stylized workout sequences to questionable dialogue. Travolta’s revealing gym shorts became an unintentional talking point, and the aerobic class sequences—which involved an excessive number of pelvic thrusts—bordered on comical.

For some, it was impossible to take the film seriously. The New York Times summed it up by saying that Perfect was “one of the most unintentionally campy films of the decade.”

The film’s soundtrack also contributed to its peculiar energy. Featuring songs from Whitney Houston, Jermaine Jackson, Berlin, and Wham!, it amplified the neon-lit, overly sexualized aesthetic of the film, making it feel more like a long, sweaty music video than a compelling drama. Critics noted the film’s “weird gay vibe” due to the lingering close-ups of chiseled, glistening bodies in skin-tight leotards. Variety delivered one of the harshest verdicts, stating: “On any level, Perfect is an embarrassment and unlikely to satisfy any audience.”

One of the film’s more surprising details was Jamie Lee Curtis’s physical transformation for the role. As a committed actress, she trained extensively to embody Jessie Wilson, the ultimate aerobics instructor. Prior to filming, she dedicated herself to months of rigorous training, reducing her diet to just one meal a day.

By the time she filmed the final aerobics scene for the credits, she had lost 10 pounds of muscle. Curtis even participated in a music video with Jermaine Jackson to help promote the film. Despite her dedication, Perfect failed to deliver the career boost she had anticipated.

John Travolta, on the other hand, remained surprisingly unbothered by the film’s failure. While Perfect was a box office disaster that temporarily derailed his career, he never expressed regret about taking on the role.

For him, the opportunity to work with James Bridges again and the friendships formed on set made the experience worthwhile. However, critics weren’t as forgiving. Many remarked that the film felt like nothing more than “a bunch of scenes of Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta working out.”

Following the failure of Perfect, Travolta took an extended break from Hollywood, not returning to the big screen until 1989 with The Experts and Look Who’s Talking. This marked one of the longest gaps in his career, showing just how much of an impact Perfect had on his trajectory.

The production of Perfect was also plagued with delays. Initially planned as an 81-day shoot, it ended up taking a staggering 140 days to complete. Jamie Lee Curtis, accustomed to fast-paced low-budget productions, was vocal about her frustration with the extended timeline.

In a 1984 interview with The Boston Globe, she quipped: “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.”

One of the more fascinating aspects of Perfect was the inclusion of Jann Wenner, the real-life co-founder and editor of Rolling Stone magazine. Playing Travolta’s editor, Wenner went through a full screen test before landing the role. He insisted that the film was “dead-on accurate” in its portrayal of Rolling Stone’s journalistic process.

However, Perfect didn’t do much to enhance the magazine’s reputation, as the film’s over-the-top fitness scenes overshadowed its journalistic themes.

For Curtis, Perfect had a deeper meaning. She viewed the film’s title not as a reference to physical fitness but as a symbol of personal freedom. “There is no such thing as being perfect,” she explained in an interview. “Perfection is the right that people have to be whatever they want to be.” While the film’s message may have resonated with Curtis, it was ultimately overshadowed by its most infamous aspect—the aerobics sequences.

The workout scenes in Perfect became notorious for their suggestive choreography. Curtis’s leotard-clad, hip-thrusting routines were seen as overly provocative, bordering on erotic. In retrospect, Curtis admitted she was deeply uncomfortable with how these scenes were handled. “They’re supposed to be substitute love scenes,” she explained in a 1984 interview. “But in a way, the scenes are almost more pornographic than if I were naked.”

When she asked for the sequences to be toned down, she was told they already had been. Her disappointment reflected a larger issue in Hollywood, where female performances were often sexualized beyond the actor’s control. Curtis would later negotiate for more say in her roles, ultimately moving away from projects that required nudity or exploitative scenes.

Despite Perfect’s disastrous reception, it has since gained cult status. John Wilson’s The Official Razzie Movie Guide listed it as one of “The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.” Even acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino had a soft spot for the film, calling it “greatly under-appreciated” and praising Curtis’s performance.

Curtis herself has since embraced the film’s infamous legacy. In a hilarious moment on The Tonight Show, she teamed up with Jimmy Fallon to recreate the iconic aerobics scene. Dressed in her signature leotard, Curtis led Fallon through an exaggerated, thrust-heavy workout routine. The segment featured absurd antics, from

Fallon releasing a dove from his shorts to Curtis dramatically sipping champagne mid-routine. It was a perfect (no pun intended) reminder that even the most critically panned films can have a lasting impact.

Looking back, Perfect may not be a cinematic masterpiece, but it’s far more interesting than its reputation suggests. Travolta and Curtis brought undeniable charisma to their roles, and the film captured a very specific moment in 1980s pop culture.

While Curtis’s aerobics scenes may have been a source of regret, they remain unforgettable—cementing Perfect as an enduring piece of Hollywood history.