When Perfect hit theaters in 1985, it seemed destined for success. With John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis—two of Hollywood’s hottest stars—leading the cast, Columbia Pictures investing $20 million, and James Bridges directing, expectations ran high. Yet the film flopped, grossing just $12.9 million worldwide and earning multiple Razzie nominations, including Worst Actor for Travolta. What was meant to be a glamorous portrait of fitness culture became one of the most notorious disappointments of the decade.

The story followed Travolta as Adam Lawrence, a journalist sent to cover fitness clubs, where he meets aerobics instructor Jessie Wilson, played by Curtis. While the premise promised energy and romance, audiences and critics alike were put off by its execution. Instead of a sleek drama, Perfect became infamous for its campy, over-the-top workout scenes, with Travolta’s skimpy gym shorts and Curtis’s thrust-heavy routines overshadowing the actual plot. Variety dismissed it bluntly as “an embarrassment unlikely to satisfy any audience.”

Ironically, Curtis’s commitment to her role was immense. An athletic performer herself, she trained extensively before filming, even losing 10 pounds of muscle from months of demanding aerobics shoots. The iconic workout sequences cemented her as a sex symbol, though Curtis later admitted disappointment at how exploitative they looked onscreen. She even filmed a music video with Jermaine Jackson to promote the movie, showing how invested she was despite the outcome.

Travolta, meanwhile, faced a career downturn after the failure. Having dominated late-1970s pop culture with Saturday Night Fever and Grease, his star power had already cooled by the mid-80s. Perfect further stalled his momentum, leading to a four-year gap before he returned to screens. Still, Travolta maintained he had no regrets, valuing the friendships and chance to work with Bridges again more than box office numbers.

Behind the scenes, the production dragged far beyond schedule, ballooning from a planned 81 days to 140. Columbia even built a full replica of Rolling Stone’s New York offices rather than film on location, a decision that added to the bloated budget. Even with such costly attention to detail, audiences weren’t impressed.

In the end, Perfect became less remembered for its journalism subplot than for its suggestive aerobics montages and wasted potential. While Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta gave their all, critics saw a hollow, oversexed drama instead of a compelling story. Today, the film survives mostly as an 80s curiosity—proof that even with big stars, big money, and big ambition, Hollywood can still miss the mark.