"Perfect" is the much maligned film from James Bridges about a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine who writes a story about a health club in the 80s and the activity within. It keeps jumping between the Health Club angle to an investigation of an alleged drug dealer, the more interesting story in my opinion.
We meet reporter Adam Lawrence (John Travolta) writing obituaries for a small New Jersey newspaper. Fast forward a few years and we find him working as an ace reporter for Rolling Stone. No explanation is given for his sudden rise to fame (and fortune). Adam is trying to land an exclusive interview with alleged drug dealer Joe Mc Kenzie (Kenneth Welsh). He goes to Los Angeles to try to get the interview but decides to do a story on the rise of Health Clubs as the new 80s single bars.
The bulk of the film deals with Adam's Health Club story at the Sports Connection. There he gets interested in aerobics instructor Jessie Wilson (Jamie Lee Curtis) who at first is leery of him and all reporters due to a story done on her years earlier. Of course they wind up falling for each other. Over the course of their relationship she dumps him a couple of times then reconciling later.
There's plenty of aerobic dancing to loud music and even a disgusting male strip show. Marilu Henner turns up as Sally a fun loving girl engaged to the male stripper Roger (Mathew Reed). Laraine Newman plays the club "pillow" Linda and Anne De Salvo, Frankie Adam's photographer. Jann Wenner, the real life Rolling Stones editor of the day, plays Mark Roth, now wait for it, the editor of Rolling Stone and Travolta;s boss.
The best scene in the movie, in my humble opinion, is where Carly Simon throws a drink in Travolta's face.
We meet reporter Adam Lawrence (John Travolta) writing obituaries for a small New Jersey newspaper. Fast forward a few years and we find him working as an ace reporter for Rolling Stone. No explanation is given for his sudden rise to fame (and fortune). Adam is trying to land an exclusive interview with alleged drug dealer Joe Mc Kenzie (Kenneth Welsh). He goes to Los Angeles to try to get the interview but decides to do a story on the rise of Health Clubs as the new 80s single bars.
The bulk of the film deals with Adam's Health Club story at the Sports Connection. There he gets interested in aerobics instructor Jessie Wilson (Jamie Lee Curtis) who at first is leery of him and all reporters due to a story done on her years earlier. Of course they wind up falling for each other. Over the course of their relationship she dumps him a couple of times then reconciling later.
There's plenty of aerobic dancing to loud music and even a disgusting male strip show. Marilu Henner turns up as Sally a fun loving girl engaged to the male stripper Roger (Mathew Reed). Laraine Newman plays the club "pillow" Linda and Anne De Salvo, Frankie Adam's photographer. Jann Wenner, the real life Rolling Stones editor of the day, plays Mark Roth, now wait for it, the editor of Rolling Stone and Travolta;s boss.
The best scene in the movie, in my humble opinion, is where Carly Simon throws a drink in Travolta's face.