Jeffrey poster & wallpaper

Alice Drummond, Bryan Batt, Christine Baranski

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 offerin...( read more  read more... )g 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

Flixster Users

71% liked it

3,702 ratings

Critics

59% liked it

22 critics

R, 92 min.

Directed by: Christopher Ashley

Release Date: August 18, 1995

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DVD Release Date: June 3, 2003

Stats: 160 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (160)

  • rebvodka042099
    August 8, 2008
    rebvodka042099
    Somewhere between tragic and folly, comes the story of an unappeased young man, Jeffrey, who is in love with an HIV-positive man and denies to get involved with him because he cannot stand to see him die eventually.
    Unfortunately, Paul Rudnick remained too true to the play this...( read more) movie is based on that his film fails to deliver. There are some hidden tracks in the forest, there are some memorable scenes and quotes, but that is all and nothing more. Some of the actors give knock-out performances (with Sigourney Weaver and Patrick Stuart most worth mentionable). Just a sappy, light-hearted, clear romantic comedy that did not lead us where it should have.
  • ceWEBrity
    July 24, 2008
    ceWEBrity
    This shit sucks. It's just as sexually compartmentalizing as The Birdcage was, only from the other end of the spectrum and about half as cleverly.

    I don't feel like saying any more.
  • udayaasitha
    September 28, 2009
    udayaasitha
    was waiting for a long time......
  • Soundsofmadness
    January 10, 2009
    Soundsofmadness
    No thankyou - Not interested.
  • HornyJesus
    December 15, 2008
    HornyJesus
    This movie was monumentally gay and by gay I don't mean homosexual - I mean retarded.
    I must admit I laughed at Patrick Stewart's portrayal of an urbane gay man - but how could you not?
    Lastly - this movie is ridiculous and irresponsible for suggesting that a non HIV positive m...( read more)an is somehow in the wrong for wanting a partner that is also not HIV positive. There's nothing homophobic or unreasonable in wanting to start a relationship with someone that doesn't already have an ultimately fatal disease.

    Skip this and watch Patrick Stewart's scenes in this on YouTube.
  • sepio41
    November 24, 2008
    sepio41
    this film should have helped to make michael t weiss a star. at least, someone to watch and watch often. instead it got lost in a swelter of let's watch steven weber get naked with a guy. that said, it's not an enlightening film. it meant nothing to me a gay man and less to m...( read more)e as a man.
  • muscleddude
    September 10, 2008
    muscleddude
    if it wasn't for Michael T. weiss, I would of never seen it, and yeah, he has his shirt off! *drools*
  • dredzag
    September 8, 2008
    dredzag
    Not just a movie about the AIDS crisis but also how people dealt with it . Funny, sad, touching and worth watching.
  • brent73rn
    July 20, 2008
    brent73rn
    One of the classics. great all around cast, surprising performances. you'll cry you'll laugh.

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Critic Reviews

May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Rudnick, adapting his off-Broadway hit, deftly blends uproarious fun and touching gravity. full review

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It's more a series of sketches and momentary inspirations than a story that grows interesting. full review

View more Jeffrey reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • mariatoivonvirta
    April 14, 2007
    mariatoivonvirta
    I really HAVE to see this movie! I love Michael and his actorscills. I bet this movie is as tuching as the series The Pretender!

    Love
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