Jeffrey

Rating:
Summary: An underrated classic in the making!
Review: Jeffrey (Christopher Ashley, 1995)

What a wonderful little film this is, easily one of the best releases of 1995. Unfortunately, it went almost unnoticed by everyone but a few stray critics and some hardcore Trekkies who were able to withstand the traumatization of witnessing Jean-Luc Picard running around behaving like a flaming queen. (One can easily imagine Patrick Stewart imitating Alan Rickman's immortal one-liner from Galaxy Quest: "I played Richard III...")

Jeffrey is a love story gone horribly awry in the best of ways. A young gay man named Jeffrey (Steven Weber, probably best-known for taking on the role of Jack Torrance in the recent miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining), obsessed with the spread of HIV, swears off sex, much to the horror of his best friend Sterling (Stewart). Needless to say, as soon as he decides this, he meets Mr. Right, a chap named Steven (Michael T. Weiss before his Pretender days). As we go through boy-meets-boy, boy-loses-boy, boy-gets-boy-into-pickle, boy-gets-pickle-into-boy, we're treated to a number of sideshows in Jeffrey and Steve's fantasy lives (some of which are positively horrific; Jeffrey's imagining of how a phone conversation with his parents might go is the kind of thing recurring nightmares are made of), a twisted self-help guru (Sigourney Weaver) who tries to get Jeffrey over his fear of intimacy, some sidebars with Sterling and Sterling's AIDS-infected lover (the deliciously funny Bryan Batt), and various other pratfalls. The end result is hysterical in all the right places.

What struck the few people who noticed the film back in 1995 was the transplanting of the typical Hollywood slapstick-romance-forties-comedy framework onto a gay relationship; these days that's common enough we can forget about that angle. Today we look at it and are astounded at the number of bit players in this film who have gone on to stardom; Stewart and Weaver were the only really big names in the cast at the time, but since then Weiss, Camryn Manheim, Kathy Najimy, Ethan Phillips, and a host of others have all become recognizable faces. Either the casting director was a genius or the movie was simply a secretarial pool from which every major Hollywood agent has since drawn. Either way, it's a great film to play spot-the future-star with, in addition to its many other fine qualities.
Very, very highly recommended in every way, shape, and form. **** ½

Rating:
Summary: A sex film even prudes can enjoy!
Review: Okay. Weird title for a review, I know. But, well, I'm pretty much a "prude." I don't like sex films of any sort -- gay or heterosexual. They are usually immature, graphic, and (often) disgusting, passing off crude remarks as humor. "Jeffrey" changed my opinion. It's witty and fast-paced and wonderfully off-beat. True, there are a few (brief) moments that made me say, "Whoa!" but they were SO brief and well-handled that I didn't have time to be offended. [Please note: I am pro-gay rights, so I am not referring to the kissing scenes. ;) ] If someone had told me I'd sit through an entire movie in which the word "sex" is used about every other sentence, I'd have not believed them. I not only sat through "Jeffrey," I enjoyed it like I haven't enjoyed a film in a while. I laughed aloud repeatedly! I also liked that this film had substance. AIDS is not a joke and there were some very moving scenes -- and that made me love this movie all the more. I give it 5 stars! And if you still aren't sure whether to see "Jeffrey" or not, pick it up for the sole purpose of seeing Patrick Stewart's performance. I about fell off the sofa with laughter when they gave him the tiara...

Rating:
Summary: Not very interesting at all
Review: I suppose that Jeffrey was groundbreaking when it came out, as it addressed AIDS in a humorous way. I saw the play when it was off Broadway. I didn't like it then. I didn't like it years later, and I don't like this movie, which is somewhat faithful to the play.

I don't think that the director, the actors, the producers, or the studio can be blamed for my dislike of this film. It just isn't my cup of tea.

Now, I've seen and loved many films of this genre, especially Longtime Companion and Parting Glances. I've loved plays from this genre too. My problem with this play is that it comes off a bit too light and whimsical and less like a play than a series of vignettes clipped together with Scotch tape and staples.

With the exception of The Sum of Us, I don't know of any film of the genre in which the actors speak directly to the audience. It bothered me in The Sum of Us, though not to distraction, and it bothers me here to a large degree.

Emotions are over the top and so is the acting. As a comedy, this is great stuff, I suppose, if you are a member of Act Up. I don't subscribe to this kind of humor. It's not offensive. It just ISN'T! Seeing a crowd of people who do not know the lead character chase him down the street asking him why he won't go on a date with a man with HIV is just a bit too Bye Bye Birdie when you're dealing with a serious subject - even if it is a comedy.

I don't know. I have many friends who love this film. It just doesn't suit me. I think it's a lousy film based on a lousy play. Maybe you'll think differently.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Worst Gay Movies Ever Made
Review: I cannot believe that so many people actually liked this movie. I have seen over 60 gay and lesbian movies and this is by far the worst one that I have ever had the misfortune to watch-with "Chuck and Buck" running a close second.

Rating:
Summary: Nauseatingly politically correct
Review: This film goes so extremely far into political correctness that it becomes psychotic. Get the message to this one. It's a lulu. I hope you are sitting down - ready? Gay men who do not have sex with hiv positive guys are insensitive, mean, and have a problem. Imagine. If you do not have sex with a positive man it means YOU have the problem. I would rather be labeled a creep than to perform the kind of self-lobotomy necessary to find that conclusion reasonable. Sure, there is a lot of wit in the movie - some of it strained. But the whole gist of it trivializes AIDS (just like that "cutesy" term "poz" for a chronic, deadly condition). Where we should have movies and books promoting a strong survival instinct in those who are not infected, this movie tries to lay a guilt trip on those who aren't, typical of the rationalizations I have heard which are rampant in the gay community. Well, I'm not buying any of it. A dumb, even disturbing conclusion: the negative guy decides to have wild sex with the positive one. What a message!

Rating:
Summary: A bit Dated, but FUNNY!
Review: OK, So this wasn't the Great American Gay film everybody thought it was going be. It still had some wonderful lines in it that will leave you laughing after it's somewhat silly ending. Most of these lines are delivered by Patrick Stewart "Captain Picard".
Jeffery, a gay actor want to be who waits tables at parties decides not to have sex anymore because of AIDS and how this makes sex no longer fun. WEll low and behold he meets the man of his dreams, with only one problem, that man is HIV positive.
A bit dated now but still a funny clever film that will give you a few laughs.

Rating:
Summary: Jeffrey
Review: "Can I do this? Or do I look like some sort of gay super hero?" this is a hilarious, yet moving story of how one an deals with the threat of AIDS...by giving up sex. *gasp*

Rating:
Summary: "Hate AIDS, Jeffrey, not life"
Review: Looked for this movie a long time ago, I finally had the chance to see it, and I'm impressed.
Is not the story, is what this movie arouse to us. It's charming, and you feel grateful about how this movie can show such a deep and interesting theme, AIDS. This is for sure the heart of the movie. Another jewel is the acting, it's touch the skies, and actors like Michael T. Weiss doesn't show not a single point of falseness. The only reason I gave this 4 stars is because it's not wonderful, but it's truly unique, and you don't see movies like this being made anymore. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Frankly I expected more
Review: Given such a stellar cast it's amazing there could have been so many boring stretches -- mostly Jeffrey's fantasies, which are so silly as to not seem funny at all. On the other hand, if these are edited out, the remaining story, though shorter, emerges with energy and tension to snare your imagination. Weiss was truly excellent as the hot pursuing lover. Weber was OK but he was overshadowed by Weiss. Patrick Stewart nearly stole the whole show for himself, as his excellence as an actor is far beyond that of his co-stars, who lack his experience and training. Notwithstanding the problems of this movie, it is enjoyable on the whole and more than worth the price.

Rating:
Summary: A very funny movie
Review: This movie has lots of funny scenes. There are fantastic performances from the cameo roles, who seem to suck away all the short time they have on the screen. It seems Sigourney Weaver's professor stays with you during the whole movie, as do the other short interemezzo's. Kathy Najimy, after being "cured" from her walks with pride back to her seat saying "I can walk!" Jeff: "You could walk before", Kathy "shut up". Priceless. And if it was not so crude and explicit, the phone call to Jeffrey's parents belongs in an anthology. A great movie, you have to see it!