Starring: Steven Weber, Peter Jaconson, Tom Cayler, David Thornton, Lee Mark Nelson Directed By: Christopher Ashley (III) Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: MGM (Video & DVD) Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: June 03, 2003 Running Time: 94 minutes Theatrical Release Date: August 18, 1995
Product Description: 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 Oscar® nominee* Sigourney Weaver Golden Globe® nominee** Nathan Lane and Oscar® 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 safe sex 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 dreams or taking a risk on what just might be true love!*1988: Actress Gorillas in the Mist; 1988: Supporting Actress Working Girl; 1986: Actress Aliens**1996: Actor - Musical or Comedy The Birdcage***1987: Supporting Actress MoonstruckSystem Requirements:Running Time: 94 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 027616878908 Manufacturer No: M101884
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
"Ta-da! That's it! Case closed." 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 whiny 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.
JEFFREY 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.
Satisfactorily Exceptional This DVD came still in it's original seal. The contents were not labeled on the outside for consumers protection. The movie is just as good as if it had been purchased in a high end retail store, with the added convenience of shopping from home and delivered to me. I noticed someone gave it a fantacy "tag." I do not agree, the movie's story line, while it may be someones fantacy, it should not have to be only that. It can be reality! It is a reality in some parts of western Europe.
Amazingly good! Some of us remember what it was like "coming of age" in the mid 1980s when everyone was terrified of HIV/AIDS, and coming to terms with whether we were going to let our fear ruin our enjoyment of sex and intimacy was not a small thing. This was the first movie I ever saw that acknowledged this, and managed to laugh a loud, hearty laugh.
Steven Weber is a gay man who is tired of having sex ruined by "safe". He loves sex, but all of the preparations have spoiled the enjoyment and he swears off sex forever. Since the Gods like a good laugh, they put Steve (Michael T. Weiss) in his path and you can see the sparks flying from the moment they meet. But this temptation does not convince our hero to give up his no-sex lifestyle, that job belongs to Sterling & Darius (Patrick Stewart and Bryan Batt).
Of course Steve is HIV+ which completely freaks out Jeffrey. And why shouldn't it? This was every gay man's fear at the time and a not-insubstantial fear in the straight community too. Jeffrey comes to terms with the fact he has let his fear not only ruin his life, but made him act like a jerk to everyone around him. Finally coming to terms with his fear and seeing that it is ruling his life, Jeffrey makes a decision to face his fears and continue living ... and loving.
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