Even though the film was a major box-office failure and temporarily derailed John Travolta's A-list career, he claims he doesn't regret doing it, mostly due to his friendships with the cast and the chance to work again with James Bridges.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis was eager to be in the movie: Curtis once explained: "I'm an athletic person, a minor sort of closet jock. Whenever I would take an exercise class, I would imagine myself giving one. But while I was certainly intrigued by the story, I was mostly excited about working with these people".
Jamie Lee Curtis trained for several months before shooting began. All the scenes that show her leading classes were filmed first, with the narrative and dramatic sequences shot next. The last sequence filmed was the closing credits workout. It is noticeable that Curtis had lost 10 pounds of muscle since the workout scenes had been filmed. She also filmed a music video with Jermaine Jackson to promote the movie.
Based on the famous Sports Connection (a giant up-scale athletic facility in West Los Angeles that also contains a restaurant and bar), which was known in the late 1970s and 1980s for its singles scene.
Debut cinema movie of Rolling Stone magazine's then real editor, publisher, and co-founder Jann Wenner who portrayed Rolling Stone magazine editor-in-chief Mark Roth in the film. Wenner said: "I think the film shows Rolling Stone as it really is. I think that the movie will explain Rolling Stone to a lot of people who may have misconceptions about what it is. The magazine covers a lot of arenas in addition to music-politics, cultural affairs, sociology, movies". Wenner was actually cast in "Perfect" following a full screen test opposite actor John Travolta. How realistic did Wenner find the film? Wenner reported: "Dead-on accurate. There are naturally some liberties taken, but Jim's movies are all somewhat journalistic in that they look at a scene and report it accurately. Jim [James Bridges] would frequently ask me, 'Would you really do something like this?' or 'Would the magazine really do something like that?'."