From the witty, whimsical mind of acclaimed writer Paul Rudnick (In & Out, Addams Family Values) and celebrated stage director Christopher Ashley comes a hilarious, star-studded, boy-meets-boy romantic comedy! Steven Weber, Patrick Stewart, Michael T. Weiss, Bryan Batt, OscarÂ(r) nominee* Sigourney Weaver, Golden GlobeÂ(r) nominee** Nathan Lane and OscarÂ(r) winner*** Olympia Dukakis star in this "warm and humorous exploration of all-too-human relationships" (Boxoffice) in the age of AIDS. Disenchanted with the not-so-romantic side of safesex, sweet, single and obsessive Jeffrey (Weber) vows to become completely celibate! No sooner has he sworn off sex than he meets hunky, sensitive Steve (Weiss). But just as passion starts to ignite,Steve reveals some earth-shattering information, leaving Jeffrey to choose between losing the man of his dreamsor taking a risk on what just might be true love!
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JEFFREYDec 23, 2008 I had this movie on videotape forever and when I went to watch it the last time, the tape had warped or whatever. Luckily, I found a dvd copy available on Amazon, sent for it, and was able to watch it again in perfect condition. One of the funniest gay/lesbian movies ever! And touching as well...
Here's a hetro woman's feelings on this filmDec 14, 2008 About 19 years ago I read this play called "Jeffery". It was such a departure from all the other gay/AIDS related plays I had seen or read, I wanted to see it live and not on the page. I never got to see it preformed, and was so tickled when I discovered it on dvd!
To me it was not only well acted, but covered a lot of stuff that scared all of us dating, not just gay folks, but EVERYONE concerned about losing ourselves, and our loved ones.
Jeffery isn't just scared of dying, but of losing someone he loves, so if he doesn't love anyone, his is safe....got to tell you folks that isn't just a gay issue.
All three leads in this film brought a lot of warmth and humor to the text. I am so glad I bought a copy of this movie! I plan on watching it again tonight.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
"Ta-da! That's it! Case closed."Jul 31, 2008 Few people can write one-liners as Paul Rudnick can, and the best thing about this independent 1995 feature is that he wrote wonderful lines for Patrick Stewart and Sigourney Weaver that allowed these two superb actors some of the funniest lines they've ever had a chance to say on screen. Stewart plays the titular protagonist's best friend, a very stylish and very cutting Manhattan interior decorator; Weaver, in an absolutely inspired manic turn, is a high-energy New Age self-help guru who can barely conceal her contempt for her followers. Although the whole film is worth watching just to see them do their bits, they don;t get nearly enough screen time; unfortunately, Rudnick allotted far more time to the angst-ridden indecisions of a handsome NYC cater-waiter (Steven Weber), who has decided to give up sex entirely because of the AIDS crisis just before he meets a hunky bartender named Steve (Michael T. Weiss) who is absolutely ga-ga for him. We're stuck watching Jeffrey hem and haw for the entirety of the film when you can easily figure out his final decision far in advance. This is especially true given that Jeffrey's alternative to sleeping with Steve is returning to Wisconsin, which is spoken of in the film as if it were the northern coast of Greenland. (It never seem to occur to Rudnick that there might be cities, gay men, and even pride parades in the Midwest.) Although Weber tries hard with his underwritten part, Jeffrey remains a cipher aside from his immediate dilemma; clearly intended to be something of a gay urban Everyman, he is almost singularly devoid of personality. Although hardly given much firmer character outlines, Weiss fares much better by emphasizing Steve's charm and romanticism. The basic theme of the movie is nothing you wouldn't find in any Broadway lyric by Jerry Herman or Kander & Ebb: what good is sitting alone in your room when you've got to ring them bells, because the best of times is now? With Christine Baranski in a tiny but hilarious cameo as a very good-natured society doyenne, and Nathan Lane (too much as usual for the movies) as a frenetic gay priest.
Well intentioned, but too whinyDec 23, 2007 A gay man (Stephen Webber) swears off love because he is afraid of AIDS despite a powerful attraction to a man (Michael T. Weiss) he meets at his health club. "Jeffrey" started out as a play and it shows: characters make speeches directly to the camera and it is filled with generally amusing little vignettes that probably work well in a theater revue but don't build a cohesive film narrative. The characters seem to be delivering monologues to each other rather than having conversations.
All of this can be overcome if the writing is good enough (as it often is), but the central character of Jeffrey is more problematic. He spends the whole movie running from relationships and inadvertently treating his would-be boyfriend rather shabbily, and I think we are meant to identify with him, but he is surrounded by much wiser, more emotionally healthy characters who implore him to do the right thing. As a result, I was just exasperated with Jeffrey's whiny self-centeredness and unconvinced by his conversion at the end. The entire cast does a great job. It's a hoot to see Patrick Stewart as a flamboyant gay man, but he doesn't just play it for laughs; his Sterling comes through as the most sharply defined personality in the film.
0 of 4 found the following review helpful:
JEFFREYAug 23, 2007 Dull, boring, crude and irreverent. If this so called musical was
about heterosexuals, it would be just as bad. Although Patrick Stewart
put forth a good performance, it was sad to see him in such a poorly done
film. The story line could have been solid if done in a more realistic
and honest fashion, but it was definately not the best idea for a
musical comedy. Crude humor greatly reduced what little value the
over all story had.
based on 59 reviews
