The Associated Press by Bob Thomas

Perfect is gorgeous to look at, with its disciplined bodies (there is even a visit to a male strip joint) and modern cityscapes. Travolta was never more personable; doubts concerning his star presence are dispelled here. Jamie Lee Curtis matches him charismatically, despite her ambivalent role. [21 May 1985]

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Jay Scott

Perfect betrays itself in the end, but until it does, it's an unexpectedly thoughtful consideration of "lifestyle" journalism, which by nature allots to the unknown a sudden but ephemeral celebrity, and which too frequently takes advantage of naive subjects eager to lower their defences. [7 June 1985]

Newsweek by David Ansen

A glossy, engrossing piece of work. Yet the story feels worked up, inorganic. [10 June 1985, p.88]

Chicago Tribune by Gene Siskel

Perfect tries too hard to be perfect on too many fronts, and like a person who fine-tunes his or her body too much, Perfect ultimately seems brittle and less attractive the closer one looks. [7 June 1985, p.A]

Empire by William Thomas

A gaudy, flamboyant expose that asks a lot of its stars, and gets more than it deserves.

Time Out

This demonstration of journalistic integrity sits uneasily beside the unscrupulous methods Travolta deploys in his health club story, and if that's the point, the movie certainly meanders towards it.

The New York Times by Vincent Canby

Too superficially knowing to be a camp classic, but it's an unintentionally hilarious mixture of muddled moralizing and all-too-contemporary self-promotion.

Los Angeles Times by Sheila Benson

If Perfect didn't have a germ of an idea tucked away in all its posturing silliness, it wouldn't be quite so infuriating. But it has: Superficially it's about sliding-scale morality in journalism today, a not uninteresting subject. [7 June 1985, p.C1]

Washington Post by Paul Attanasio

Perfect is a trashy movie about women jumping up and down in leotards, but it's also more (and less) than that, a look at the wages of the free press. Despite a number of fine performances, a few good hoots and more daunting bodies, it's far from perfect. It touts the First Amendment like a corny romance from the '40s -- stars and stripes in spandex. [7 June 1985, p.D1]

Variety by Staff (Not Credited)

Set in the world of journalism, pic is guilty of the sins it condemns - superficiality, manipulation and smugness.