Taglines: Health Clubs – More Sex than Sweat?
Perfect movie storyline. Rolling Stone reporter Adam Lawrence (John Travolta) is sent from New York to Los Angeles to write an article about a businessman arrested for a drug dealing. 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 Sport Connection,” a popular gym where he meets workout instructor Jessie Wilson (Jamie Lee Curtis) and asks 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 concerted 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 (Jann Wenner).
Adam’s article is turned over to others for editing, using material supplied by colleague Frankie, a photographer. She finds Jessie’s long-ago appearance in a magazine with embarrassing details about a romance. Adam travels for another assignment and is unaware of the changes being made in his story and too late to stop it. This has devastating impact on Jessie, as well as on others like Sally and Linda, 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.
Perfect is a 1985 American romantic drama film starring John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis, directed by James Bridges. The film was based on a series of articles that appeared in Rolling Stone magazine in the late 1970s, chronicling the popularity of Los Angeles health clubs amongst single people.
Perfect (1985)
Directed by: James Bridges
Starring: John Travolta, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ramey Ellis, Anne De Salvo, Philippe Delgrange, Alma Beltran, Stefan Gierasch, Jann Wenner
Screenplay by: Aaron Latham
Production Design by: Michael D. Haller
Cinematography by: Gordon Willis
Film Editing by: Jeff Gourson
Costume Design by: Michael Kaplan
Set Decoration by: Thomas L. Roysden
Art Direction by: Lynda Paradise
Music by: Ralph Burns
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: June 7, 1985
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