JERMAINE JACKSON — (Closest Thing To) Perfect

JUL 01 1985 · 12:00

JERMAINE JACKSON — (Closest Thing To) Perfect (1985) Director: Bob Giraldi Era: Mid-Decade MTV Boom (1985) - Peak of the music video era, driven by film soundtrack tie-ins and aerobics/fitness culture crossover marketing High curatorial value as a precisely dateable 1985 artifact uniting three convergent pop-culture phenomena: the Hollywood-MTV promotional machine, peak aerobics-fitness culture, and mid-decade R&B synth-pop. Directed by one of the era's most historically significant music video directors, the video provides a rich primary source for researchers studying the commercialization of MTV aesthetics, celebrity crossover marketing, and the visual grammar of the fitness craze. Context: Released in 1985 as the theme song to the Columbia Pictures film 'Perfect,' this video sits at the intersection of three dominant mid-decade forces: the Hollywood-MTV promotional pipeline, the aerobics and physical fitness craze popularized by Jane Fonda's workout tapes, and the commercial peak of synth-driven R&B. The song peaked at #67 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #63 on the Hot Black Singles Chart. The video leverages the film's gym-set iconography and star power to market both the single and the movie. Directed by Bob Giraldi — the pre-eminent music video director of the era — the production reflects the moment when major studios routinely commissioned high-budget music videos from top-tier commercial directors as primary marketing vehicles for theatrical releases. Director notes: Directed for Arista Records as a promotional tie-in to the 1985 Columbia Pictures film 'Perfect.' The video is set within a gym/aerobics studio environment mirroring the film's setting. IMDB lists the production company as Gasp! Productions. The video's fast-cut editing pace (avg 3.0s shot length, 81 scene changes) is consistent with Giraldi's kinetic, choreography-driven MTV-era style honed on 'Beat It' and 'Say Say Say.' Giraldi's broader 1985 work also included the Club Med feature film, placing this video within a particularly active production period for the director.