Picture Perfect (1997)

49% of critics liked it
(41 reviews)
41% of users liked it
(40,412 ratings)

Friends star Jennifer Aniston made her debut as the leading lady of a feature film in this romantic comedy. Kate (Aniston) is an art director with an advertising agency whose personal and professional life is stuck in neutral; while her work is good, her boss Mr. Mercer (Kevin Dunn) won't give her a… More Friends star Jennifer Aniston made her debut as the leading lady of a feature film in this romantic comedy. Kate (Aniston) is an art director with an advertising agency whose personal and professional life is stuck in neutral; while her work is good, her boss Mr. Mercer (Kevin Dunn) won't give her a promotion, and while Kate is attracted to co-worker Sam (Kevin Bacon), he's not interested in her. Kate learns that Mercer is loath to promote single people, because without permanent attachments they're free to leave whenever they wish. Kate's friend Darcy (Illeana Douglas) comes up with a possible solution: use a photo of Kate with handsome stranger Nick (Jay Mohr) to convince Mercer that she's engaged to be married. The ruse works -- Kate gets her promotion, and Sam, who's attracted to women who are already spoken for, starts showing her some attention. But soon Mercer wants to meet Kate's husband-to-be; Kate tracks down Nick and persuades him to pose as her intended for an evening, but Nick decides at the end of the night that he's in love with her. Picture Perfect was written and directed by Glenn Gordon Caron, who created the TV series Moonlighting. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Glenn Gordon Caron
Written By: Arleen Sorkin, Paul Slansky
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 1, 1997 Wide
On DVD: Jan 18, 2000
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Janet Maslin, New York Times
[Aniston] at her best can recall young Barbra Streisand in her What's Up, Doc? days.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Aniston doesn't need dialogue to catch Kate's quicksilver moods. It's the sitcom lines, at the service of a contrived plot, that choke her.
Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today
Insubstantial and oversweet, it still refreshes as a midsummer brain cooler.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Aniston comes across like an imitation of a movie star instead of the real thing. She gets less attractive as the film goes on.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
It's a shame the plot is so contrived, because parts of this movie are really pretty good.
Charles Taylor, Salon.com
What Picture Perfect sells as romance is a junior high school health class morality lecture we all got years ago. And it was a crock then, too.
Derek Adams, Time Out
[Aniston] has the rare gift of getting you to root for her in the most trying of circumstances, a quality that will stand her in good stead when she progresses to better material.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
enjoyable fluff
Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
Sure, the movie follows a basic romantic comedy formula, but it has a freshness about it, mainly because Aniston and Mohr make a sweet match.
Eugene Novikov, Film Blather
The characters are one-dimensional and surprisingly shallow, the film is unpleasantly predictable, and the realism factor here is You've gotta be kidding.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
The main thing that makes it watchable are the performances of Jennifer Aniston, Jay Mohr and Kevin Bacon. The three make an interesting romantic triangle, despite numerous plot problems, such as the story is basically unbelievable.
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
Not quite bad enough to call rancid, and that's the best I can say for it.
Margaret A. McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer
The comedy side of the formula gets short shrift here, partly because the camera spends so much time lingering on Ms. Aniston's ineffable cuteness.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...the stink of mediocrity is upon this movie.
Susan Lambert, Boxoffice Magazine
The script has interesting comments to make about the expectations people place on love, marriage and commitment, but it fails to follow through; its structure disintegrates just at the point when it should take off...
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Glenn Gordon Caron directs this romantic comedy with a light touch that brings to the surface its breezy observations on sexual politics.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dean !

An average Aniston Rom-Com. Not her best or her worst. It's ok but I have watched a few of her more recent films lately that I thought were better or funnier at least.
Anthony L

I saw this in the cinema. I would hasten to add, I was forced!
Cassie H

The ultimate chick flick. Adorable movie. Jen is adorable, Kevin is gorgeous, & jay is 2 cute 4 words. Would absolutly recommend this movie 2 anyone who loves romantic comedies. I love it! <3
Film C

I love this movie again another brillant romcom starring my favourite jennifer aniston, this is a witty, entertainingly hilariuosly sexy romcom which keeps you glued to your tv!! All though fairly predictable towards the end its still very good!! Aniston plays a job obsessed woman… More
I love this movie again another brillant romcom starring my favourite jennifer aniston, this is a witty, entertainingly hilariuosly sexy romcom which keeps you glued to your tv!! All though fairly predictable towards the end its still very good!! Aniston plays a job obsessed woman who needs to marry someone just so she can move along on job career prospect and thats where Jay mohr comes in giving a very entertainingly funny performance!!! Really worth a watch!!!
Candy R

Rom com about a woman trying to advance her career.
Lanning :

Auwe . . . Minus one star for the directing. Have you ever seen a more unconvincing stroking of a loved one in bed scene? Minus one star for the sparkling dialogue ?! Minus one star for casting Jay Mohr. In anything. Minus one star for that… More
Auwe . . . Minus one star for the directing. Have you ever seen a more unconvincing stroking of a loved one in bed scene? Minus one star for the sparkling dialogue ?! Minus one star for casting Jay Mohr. In anything. Minus one star for that green dress. And three people actually compliment her about it?! Minus one star for the matching green shoes. Olympia Dukakis? What's up with this performance? Minus one star. Hmmm, we're at minus six stars here. Oh well, I'll give it one. It's not as bad as Blair Witch or Jackass.
Dannielle A

Aniston's acting in this was was average at best. I didn't really like her character that much and it bothered me that she said she was "the nice girl" even though she's actually not. There were some pretty funny moments but many scenes were just annoying.… More
Aniston's acting in this was was average at best. I didn't really like her character that much and it bothered me that she said she was "the nice girl" even though she's actually not. There were some pretty funny moments but many scenes were just annoying. The only reason I saw this movie was because whenever I said "I love Picture Perfect" people thought I was referring to this movie when I meant the 1995 version.
Joseph E

Saddeningly this is the only Quality Jennifer Aniston film. It was alot better than I expected with Touching Romance and Heartbreaking comedy! A suprising "Three out of Four" Stars. A Slight Reccomendation.
Erin C

It was cute, but not great. I love Aniston, Bacon, and Dukakis, but the movie itself was kinda just blah.
Sunil J

A fairly innocent romantic comedy. Jennifer Aniston shows that she can carry a leading role.
Sarah B

Okay, I admit it, I love romcoms. And Jay Mohr. And saccharine endings. And obvious plot developments. And Jennifer Aniston just playing the same role as she did in Friends. And silly obstacles getting in the way of true love.
Leo L

A favorite.