Entertainment
Jamie Lee Curtis' Steamy 80s Rom Com Is A Spandex Infused Cult Classic
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Growing up, I always wanted to be a writer in some capacity because movies made it seem like such a luxurious profession. The idea of calling my editor to get clearance for airfare and a rental car on the company’s dime so I could chase down leads about the world’s largest cheese wheel at some podunk county fair for my column was my idea of living the high life. 1985’s Perfect captures that mystique around chasing hot tips in pursuit of a juicy story.
After a hard day’s free lunch spent interviewing a corrupt businessman who later gets arrested for moonlighting as a drug trafficker, the job somehow gets even sweeter in Perfect. That same editor who flew you out to Los Angeles also approves your pitch about the dating scene as it relates to trendy fitness clubs.
Smash cut to sweaty leotards, knowing glances, pelvic thrusts, and a fitness instructor who’s just a little too guarded about her past but willing to open up if you can earn her trust, and you’ve got a steamy rom com about how glorious a writer’s life used to be.
Sweaty Salutations At The Sports Connection
Perfect tells two stories in tandem, but the romance sits firmly in the front seat while the journalism plot drives idly along. Rolling Stone writer Adam Lawrence (John Travolta) is preparing to write a career-defining story about the downfall of corrupt businessman Joe McKenzie (Kenneth Welsh). Adam flies to LA to get McKenzie’s side of the story, but quickly decides to pursue a new angle he believes will be a real page turner: are fitness clubs the single bars of the 80s?
After getting a Bloody Mary thrown in his face, a recurring theme in Perfect, Adam starts gathering intel on that second story, which leads him to The Sports Connection, the hippest and hottest gym west of the Mississippi. While getting the lay of the land, Adam sneaks a glance at an intense aerobics class led by the thrusting and gyroscopically efficient Jessie Wilson (Jamie Lee Curtis). He approaches her with journalistic intent, but she’s understandably guarded after being burned by the tabloids in the past.
That journalistic intent quickly turns into romantic intent after Adam joins one of Jessie’s punishing group workouts, driving the point home with short shorts and chaotic, crotch-centric choreography. Once a mutual attraction is established in Perfect, things begin to unravel for Adam. He can no longer approach the story objectively thanks to his fiery romance with Jessie. Caught between the story that could make or break his career, the story that will determine his relationship’s future, and his own hubris, Adam has to figure out how to handle the situation or risk yet another tomato-based cocktail to the face.
A Box Office And Critical Bomb Turned Cult Classic
For all of these reasons, Perfect was not the runaway success writer director James Bridges expected. The film earned just under $13 million against a reported $20 million production budget, leaving theaters in the red. Critics were no kinder, handing it an abysmal 18 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Personally, I’ve always had a great time with this one because it’s so wildly stupid that it circles back around to being endearing. The Travolta workout scenes alone are prime meme fodder, and if you can watch them with a straight face, you’re a stronger person than I am.
Adam also isn’t especially sympathetic. He’s kind of a jerk, using his profession to weasel into a relationship he clearly can’t handle under the guise of being a truth seeker and master storyteller, complete with an 80 pound laptop and a sports jacket. Despite its creative missteps, Perfect has earned its place as a cult classic you should watch at least once for the love of the game. For the moral dilemma, the sweat, and the spectacle, you can stream Perfect for free on Tubi as of this writing.
