Product Details

• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Format: PAL
• Subtitled in: French
• Running time: 92 minutes

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

From The New Yorker
In adapting his hip, funny 1993 stage hit, Paul Rudnick has lost much of its charm and humor. The story of Jeffrey (Steven Weber), a gay man who decides to become celibate (because the fear of AIDS has taken all the fun out of sex) and then meets Mr. Right, seems dated, and Jeffrey whines so much that you lose patience with him. Onstage, Jeffrey's indecision played with some kick-he seemed to be hurting mainly himself-but the film, with all its tight closeups of the sad, rejected suitor, makes his actions seem mean. There are some laughs, and the excellent supporting cast (particularly Patrick Stewart and Nathan Lane) keeps its clever lines afloat. The director, Christopher Ashley, did an imaginative job staging the play, but his pacing here kills the comedy. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Enthusiastic If Not Gay
The professional reviewer missed the main point of Jeffrey's dilemma. He's not so afraid of getting AIDS; he's afraid of falling in love with a man who then dies of it. Most people figure a 50% chance of dying before their spouse; but taking on a person with a known, fatal disease throws those odds way out of kilter and creates a desperate, poignant situation.

Steve Weber is no gayer than George Bush but he certainly is an enthusiastic kisser. This was the first film I saw Michael Weiss in and he totally had me convinced he was gay. I knew Patrick Stewart isn't, but his performance is dead on.

Overall, a very funny movie with a big, big heart.

Great movie - Very Funny and Romantic too!
I laughed at some of the negative reviews posted on here for this movie. This is a Paul Rudnik movie - He wrote "In & Out" "Adams Family Values" etc - this is not supposed to be "Longtime Companion" kids!

He tackles these topics from a "Neil Simon" point of view. Meaning wisecracks leading to the serious subjects. This is a COMEDY first and second tackles the issues of intimacy in the age of AIDS.

The performances are wonderful. Especially Patrick Stewart who should have been nominated for an Oscar. Steven Weber is adorable and Michal T Weiss is so hot he almost melts the film.

I highly recommend this very funny movie with a point. Plus I like romantic movies about ADULT gay men. You hardly see them. It's always a coming out story about young boys. That was done in an excellent way with 'beautiful thing' but move on gay filmmakers. Adult men deserve their love stories too.

Brilliant, hilarious, witty - MUST SEE
This offbeat comedy about the trials of life as a single gay man will have you laughing until it hurts, whether or not you're part of the gay scene. Side-splitting daydream sequences in Jeffrey's mind give the entire thing a surreal feel, and Patrick Steward (Star Trek TNG's Captain Picard) as a lisping, leopard-skin-clad interior decorator is a sight that nobody should miss. Cleverly written, well choreographed, fast-paced, light-hearted, and very, very, VERY funny. Homofiles and homophobes alike should watch this movie.