Picture Perfect (1997)

A young advertising executive's life becomes increasingly complicated when, in order to impress her boss, she pretends to be engaged to a man she has just met.

Director:

Glenn Gordon Caron

Writers:

Arleen Sorkin (story), Paul Slansky (story)

Stars:

Jennifer Aniston, Jay Mohr, Kevin Bacon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Aniston	...	Kate
Jay Mohr	...	Nick
Kevin Bacon	...	Sam
Olympia Dukakis	...	Rita
Illeana Douglas	...	Darcy
Kevin Dunn	...	Mr. Mercer
Anne Twomey	...	Sela
Faith Prince	...	Mrs. Mercer
John Rothman	...	Jim Davenport
Meg Gibson	...	Mrs. Davenport (as Margaret Gibson)
Paul Cassell	...	Brad
Ivar Brogger	...	1st Ad Executive
Peter McRobbie	...	2nd Ad Executive
Bray Poor	...	3rd Ad Executive
Daryl Edwards	...	4th Ad Executive

Storyline

Kate is working on a career at Mercer Advertising but is passed up for promotion because she's 'not stable enough', still being single and having no ties to the company. A story is made up about her being engaged to Nick, a guy whom she just met at a friend's wedding, and all seems to work out well for Kate. She even gets the attention of a colleague she had always wanted, but events soon take a dramatic turn, forcing her to 'present' her alleged fiance to her boss.

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Plot Keywords:

female protagonist | yuppie | working woman | new york city | guilt | 

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Taglines:

Kate always lived her life by the rules...some rules were meant to be broken

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sensuality and related dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

Fox

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

El retrato perfecto

Filming Locations:

Central Park South Restaurant, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,809,026, 3 August 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$31,058,643, 5 October 1997

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,900,000, 9 November 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

3 Arts Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Aniston plays an older woman, as Nick ask Kate "What's your birthday?", " April 3, 1968". Jennifer's actual birthday is February 11, 1969.

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Goofs

When Nick first arrives to see Kate at Mercer Advertising, she tells him to pick her up and carry her into the office. Just before he does so, he drops his bag on the floor to his left. In the next shot, the bag has disappeared.

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Quotes

Darcy: You're in advertising, Kate: I didn't lie - I sold.

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Connections

Referenced in Kendra on Top: Picture Perfect (2012)

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Soundtracks

The More I See You
Written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren

User Reviews

One star away from awful

*** contains spoilers *** I watched this as an Instant Play on Netflix. I enjoy the romantic comedy genre, so I gave it a shot.

I won't say that Picture Perfect was completely awful because I did watch it all the way through. I will say that this film paints humanity in an ugly light.

Kate is utterly self-centered, showing the total lack of awareness of others. The entire film is predicated on the decisions she makes out of her self-centeredness. Even the "happy ending" depends on Kate's lack of awareness for anyone else but herself. It doesn't occur to her that she's ruining a stranger's wedding because she can't wait 30 minutes to get out her apologies. The film's writer insults the viewer by assuming that because Kate manages a few tender moments while she's being selfish, we then are supposed to be endeared to her.

Nick shows no dignity for his own self. The more he gets to know the self-centered Kate, the more he falls in love with her?? She insults him with her proposal, she is disrespectful and rude to him, she shows weak moral character by her "affair" with a colleague who is using her for thrill-sex... and yet, he professes that he likes her more and more. The viewers are expected to endear ourselves to him too.

Kate's colleague, played by Kevin Bacon, only sleeps with women who are married or otherwise committed. Enough said.

Kate's boss only shows his female staff respect based on whether or not they are "stable", which in this case is determined by whether or not Kate is showing signs that she's in a committed relationship.

Kate's friend encourages her to lie and cheat in order to fool her boss into thinking she's "stable".

Kate's mom is portrayed as an overbearing mother whose self-worth depends on the constant reassurance that her daughter cares about her.

Kate's other work colleagues are portrayed as gossip-mongering and thoughtless.

Don't be tempted to watch this. Whether it's intended or not, the film ends up being a commentary about the inherent selfishness of and lack of self-dignity in humanity.