[.ca] Jeffrey

Amazon.com essential video:
Surprisingly lighthearted and witty, Paul Rudnick's Jeffrey (based on his off-Broadway play) was one of the first films to tackle the AIDS crisis without patting itself on the back or offering everything up in a sobering movie-of-the-week scenario. The titular Jeffrey (Steven Weber) is a happy-go-lucky gay man who suddenly comes face to face with the fact that AIDS has turned sex into something "radioactive." Paranoid in the extreme, he vows to become celibate--at just about the same time that hunky Steve (The Pretender's Michael T. Weiss) saunters into his life, eyes twinkling and hormones raging. The only problem is that Steve, for all his muscles and charm, is HIV-positive, thus setting Jeffrey's deepest fears into motion. When it was written in 1995, Jeffrey struck a nerve in mining the fear that a number of gay men felt during the height of the AIDS crisis. Even just a few years later, though, Jeffrey's paranoia (what, he's never heard of condoms?) seems dated, and his behavior more self-damaging than self-aware--basically, he needs a slap upside the head as opposed to therapy. Still, Rudnick (who went on to pen the more mainstream In and Out) is never one to pass up a witty one-liner or an opportunity to poke fun at anyone, and Jeffrey now stands as a hilarious, sometimes poignant portrait of gay single life and the perils of dating in a paranoid time. Weber's Jeffrey is simultaneously open to the possibilities of life and fearful to embrace them, and Weiss is, well... gorgeous and funny and sexy beyond belief. Still, it's Patrick Stewart, as Jeffrey's interior decorator best friend, who effortlessly steals the film with his cutting wit; in his mouth, Rudnick's lines are priceless gems. With a host of amazing cameos, including Sigourney Weaver as a conceited New Age maven, Kathy Najimy as her sad-sack follower, Christine Baranski as a high-society hostess for a roundup-themed charity dinner, and a top-form Nathan Lane as a gay priest who seems to have discovered the meaning of life--literally. --Mark Englehart

Jeffrey Seems Dated:
I saw this flick originally when it came out. I watched it again on DVD (rental), and was disappointed. Weber, though appealing, seems awfully whiney. I realize his character's indecision about life is what drives the story- but it also drove this viewer crazy. Writer Paul Rudnick has some great lines and there are some good performances- but this film often feels strained. A somewhat enjoyable film, but it could've been better.

Think about this movie....:
I saw this movie and enjoyed it immensely the first time. It was funny, I liked Patrick Stewart's over-the-top performance, and hey, the leads aren't bad to look at. But then the more I thought about this movie the more I came away from it with problems about the way gay men are portrayed in this film. My primary discontent with this movie is Jeffrey's conception of "love." Jeffrey swears off of dating just because he's afraid of the potential consequences of sex -- as if love and sex are so absolutely intertwined that one really cannot exist without the other. Jeffrey basically says "why bother to meet new people if I know I will be refusing to have sex with them?" There's no hint of him even considering that there may be more to men than rock-hard abs and what's between their legs. Then he meets up with this hot guy at the gym. The sexual tension between the two is palpable, but because of Jeffrey's new resolution, he's determined to head it off at the pass. But he can't... because his new friend is *just so hot.* Heck, they kiss within five minutes of meeting each other. What does that say about gay men? Jeffrey's pledge is broken not because he's met a *great* guy, it's broken because he's met a *hot* guy. This just further reinforces that notion that men need nothing but the sexual appeal to sustain a "relationship." Indeed, very little of this movie shows us anything about the two main characters actually learning anything about the other's personality or character or values or morals or anything. All they seem to know about each other is that they are sexually attracted to each other. So, yes, it's a fun movie to watch. Its initial appeal is amusing. But following that, if you think too much (like I apparently do), it can get difficult to accept.

Interesting, funny, but totally unbelievable story!:
. Firstly, the very thought of any gay man giving up sex for ANY reason is totally unbelievable. And that is the premise of this movie. That said, I can also state that the film is amusing, even if highly unbelievable. The best line in the entire movie is when Jeffrey's mother asks him if he likes it when they shave their _____. (You'll have to see the movie to see what she says because I'm sure that Amazon won't let me quote it here!) Steven Weber is cute, but Michael T. Weiss as the object of his desire is a knockout! All in all, a cute film with enough eye-candy to keep you interested.

Fabulous! Absolutely!:
I love this film. It is a great snapshot of life in the gay 80s and 90s, at the height of the AIDS crisis, dealing with the impact of the disease on the lives of the urban gay men. The main character is Jeffrey (played by Steven Weber, better known from "Wings"), who has decided that it is just too much work and risk to fall in love at such at time; eventually he even decides to leave New York to move back to Wisconsin or some other remote place where he won't be tempted. However, he continues to be tempted, particularly by a bartender Steve (played by Michael T. Weiss, the "Pretender"), who unfortunately has HIV. Patrick Stewart steals the show as the interior decorate (I mean designer) Sterling, whose flamboyant gestures and over-the-top gay-ness are really something, especially during the game show scene, when his campy answers dominate the game. The ending of the film is a bit ambiguous, and of course the AIDS crisis is in many ways not over, despite the development of longer-lasting drugs and the lack of newspaper headlines. People living with the disease continues, but it need not be a hopeless situation, and that's really what this play turned film is all about. The occasional appearance of people like Nathan Lane (as a gay priest looking for a quickie) or the Mother Theresa character add flavor and further campiness, but perhaps the best cameo goes to Sigourney Weaver, as the pop-pscyhologist guru Debra, who has pat answers and snappy lines for solving all of life's problems. The DVD doesn't have much by way of extras, but it does have a film trailer, and of course the film comes off in much better form than on video tape.

A funny little gem:
Contrary to most viewers, I found "Jeffrey" to be a singularly pleasant experience all the way through. It sags a bit in the middle, but then, please name a movie that doesn't? It starts off like a protracted confessional; gay waiter Jeffrey (Steven Weber) waxing neurotic (in some telling vignettes) about the danger of having sex in the age of AIDS. He decides to work out instead. Meeting Mr. Exactly Right in the gym gives him pause, though. Especially when the guy is the delectable Steve (Michael T.Weiss), all muscle and chiseled grin. Jeffrey's friends advise him to reconsider his celibacy, and give it a go. It takes Jeffrey around 1 hour and 20 minutes of screen-time to do so. Had he succumbed to Steve right away, there would have been no movie! There is a sitcom-like feel to this story; obstructions and cracks are neatly wall-papered over in the name of light-hearted comedy. Darius' angelic reappearance towards the end smacks of opting for the easy way out. How else would Jeffrey have seen the error of his ways? It's the least convincing scene in the movie. Still, everything else is both funny and touching. The fantasy game-show is nice, the "Hoe- Down for AIDS" is a scathingly funny piss-take on charity-events, while Sterling's banter and relentless quips are wonderful: "Martha Stewart says that as long as you can make a nice, dried flower arrangement - nothing else matters!! Darius is a believable character, Steve is the hunk of the year, and although Steven Weber doesn't set the room on fire as Jeffrey, I found him to be exactly in character. After all, Jeffrey is SUPPOSED to be a rather ordinary guy. Why Steve would go for him, though, is a bit of a mystery. Their subsequent affair would make for an interesting sequel. It would probably all turn sour in the end. Then again...