Jeffrey

Having just watched this movie for the first time, some six years after it's making, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Patrick Stewart almost steals the show with his impeccable delivery of the acerbic wit written into his character.

But what I really want to talk about is the strong resemblance of the story, in its flavor and its excesses, to a story originally written by Damon Runyon known to most people today as the Broadway musical "Guys and Dolls." Both stories come across via the broad strokes of a comic book come to life. And indeed, one wonders that Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows couldn't take "Jeffrey" and work it over into a '90s "Gays and Dolls" without too much trouble. The movie already has its start in that direction with the rodeo dance number serving as the "dream ballet" sequence requisite of every self-respecting stage musical.

The point I'm making is that every fictionalized reality (an oxymoron if there ever was one) requires to some extent or another, a "willing suspension of disbelief." Watch "Jeffrey" with the same perspective you sat in the audience and enjoyed "Guys and Dolls" with: Don't look too hard for subtlety here. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the story. After all, even a comic book can have insight and a message.

This is one of those movies that I confidently predict will wind up being considered much better as time goes on than the critics said at its inception. It's especially funny (and biting on occasion) if you happened to have lived through the first rush of AIDS deaths and the fear that engendered. This whole movie is a send up of that, and revels in the idea that sex and life go on even in the aftermath of terror. The Hoe-down fantasy sequence with its overtones of Busby Berkley and Oklahoma is hysterically funny. As for the acting, it's purposely broad with Patrick Steward playing against type, both in his role of Picard and in his many Shakespearean ones. Steve Weber is a hoot and there is no doubt in my mind that the other actors had a blast working in this flick. Many of them appear to have that "look" you see when actors are performing for their peers and enjoying every moment of it. The Pink Panthers moment alone lets Stewart shine. Are there flaws in the movie. Yup! The dialogue is sometimes stilted and jokes occasionally are dumped in rather than flowing from the plot, but overall it's witty, biting, and downright rapier-like on more than one occasion. All in all, Jeffrey is fun and worth an hour or so of your life.

This is one of my favorite movies. This movie takes a very serious subject and presents it in a very light-hearted manner. There were times when I wasn't sure if I should have been laughing or crying. My favorite scenes had much to do with the quasi-comical nature in which AIDs is presented, and how each character acts, reacts, and is affected by the sickness. Rest assured, this movie will keep you interested not only with its story line but with the surprise cameo appearances by some of today's best actors.

Patrick Stewart gives an outstanding performance as "Sterling," however, it is Michael T. Weiss who steals the show! Not only does he look incredible in white spandex, but his performance is incredibly believable. Whether you are a Weiss fan or not, this movie is a must see! Lanie, NY

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...

Seeing and writing a review of Jeffrey 23 years after the film came out and now having the perspective of history I can only come to the conclusion that life is truly a lottery. Some people I knew who were diagnosed with AIDS in the early 80s are still here to tell the tale. Others are in the HIV+ status and have never developed the disease. And others I knew were diagnosed and went in weeks. They're all part of fabric of our lives, there stories should be remembered and told.

Jeffrey is a mostly comic film that turns serious in the last 20 minutes or so. Steven Weber in the title role is a 30 something gay man who has met the man of his dreams as so many did in the gym. Michael T. Weiss however has just been diagnosed as HIV+. For those unfamiliar he's been exposed the antibodies to the HIV virus have been discovered and he could develop the disease. Could, but that's the crapshoot of life.

Anyway he's decided to be celibate and fill his life with other things. But could it be too late romantically because HIV+ status or not, these two look fated to be mated.

Patrick Stewart looks like he's having a ball camping it up as Weber's older gay friend Jeffrey. Then Stewart gets deadly serious as he faces burying his young partner Bryan Batt. His scene with Weber in the hospital is just classic.

I have to give mention to Nathan Lane who chooses to practice his art mostly for the stage. He has a great part as a not so celibate priest. His scene as Weber seeks some spiritual guidance is also quite classic.

I think the moral of the story is that when you find a soulmate grab that person of whatever gender and hold on as tight as you can. That's Jeffrey's story and it's well told.