Jeffrey
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Movie Reviews of Jeffrey
Movie Review: Fabulous! Absolutely!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this film. It is a great snapshot of life in the gay 80s and 90s, at the height of the AIDS crisis, dealing with the impact of the disease on the lives of the urban gay men. The main character is Jeffrey (played by Steven Weber, better known from "Wings"), who has decided that it is just too much work and risk to fall in love at such at time; eventually he even decides to leave New York to move back to Wisconsin or some other remote place where he won't be tempted. However, he continues to be tempted, particularly by a bartender Steve (played by Michael T. Weiss, the "Pretender"), who unfortunately has HIV. Patrick Stewart steals the show as the interior decorate (I mean designer) Sterling, whose flamboyant gestures and over-the-top gay-ness are really something, especially during the game show scene, when his campy answers dominate the game.
The ending of the film is a bit ambiguous, and of course the AIDS crisis is in many ways not over, despite the development of longer-lasting drugs and the lack of newspaper headlines. People living with the disease continues, but it need not be a hopeless situation, and that's really what this play turned film is all about. The occasional appearance of people like Nathan Lane (as a gay priest looking for a quickie) or the Mother Theresa character add flavor and further campiness, but perhaps the best cameo goes to Sigourney Weaver, as the pop-pscyhologist guru Debra, who has pat answers and snappy lines for solving all of life's problems.
The DVD doesn't have much by way of extras, but it does have a film trailer, and of course the film comes off in much better form than on video tape.
Movie Review: Captain Picard Decorates
Summary: 5 Stars
A friend recommended this film. "It's very funny," he said. He neglected to mention it's a film about a gay waiter learning about commitment and life in the age of Aids. It stars Steven Weber and Patrick Stewart. Well, I would watch Stewart read the phone book, and I've always liked Weber ever since "Wings".
This film is hilarious, poignant, and triumphant all at the same time. Stewart, as a waspish interior decorator with snappy observations, is perfection. Weber holds his own as Jeffrey, a more-or-less straight-acting young gay man looking for love on what had become the sexual minefield of the '90's. He vows abstinence, but then he meets Michael T. Weiss, a masculine bartender for catered events, who has Aids. How their relationship, and how the subplot of Stewart and his lover, who has Aids, play out, caroms from wry to heart-tugging to very witty to sad to uplift. All the performances are first class, and there are also many cameos that add to the humor.
Profound observations might be made about living and surviving in what some have called "the gay holocaust", but I think this film uses the device of high contrast to great effectiveness. Tell a somewhat frothy story set in what we know to be a milieu of tragedy. We feel the pain of what Aids has done to so many: gays and straights indiscriminately, but we are left with an ultimately positive and fulfilling experience.
Anyone can enjoy this film, gay, straight or somewhere between. It's a very human story told with great trenchant humor and leaves you feeling good. What more can you ask from a film?
Movie Review: Amazingly good!
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Limited Release (distribution), Unlimited Laughs !!
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember when this first arrived in my area, it was only shown at one theatre near a university campus that typically shows *offbeat* films. My wife (at the time) and I had heard mention of the upcoming movie and its genre and we decided we would go see this film. I do not remember which night of the week we went, but the theatre was nearly packed, and there was laughter coming from everywhere during much of the film.The film, I realized, was not a film about gay folk, but about not giving up too quickly on meeting "Mr. Right", not just "Mr. Right-NOW." And in a broader sense, the film is about not denying yourself any opportunity to allow yourself to experience love... whatever it's form, wherever it is coming from, leave yourself open to the very force of nature that moves us all to great acts of courage and even greater acts of compassion.
This film is a must-have for your personal video library... but don't forget to share the viewing/listening pleasure of this film with your family and friends. It is a real treat!!
P.S. The soundtrack ain't half-bad either! There is a short piano snippet that I find very delightful, and the song Helpless by Urbanized... awesome!!
-=- P.C.
Movie Review: Consequences...
Summary: 5 Stars
Jeffery swears off sex. Why? Well after an encounter with a guy in which the condom breaks, you could almost see why. Safe sex is portrayed as the not so fun variety of sex and through the eyes of Jeffery, it seems so pointless. Then he meets someone who turns out to have HIV and despite that major calamity, sparks fly. Of course Jeffery manages to come off as cold and shallow at times, but anyone watching this has probably done something similar in their time. "Jeffery" is a top notch movie and features some pretty interesting 'cameo's'. Sigourney Weaver does a veery funny bit as an inspirational speaker who tries to tackle Jefferies issue. The cater waiter scene is just fabulously coreographed and it is one of the funniest, and possibly sexiest, scenes in the movie. And then there is Patrick Stewart who is just hilarious as he plays over the top. You can tell he, as well as the rest of the cast, are having a blast with this movie. That is what makes "Jeffery" fun. Its romantic moments are nice and the oddly interjected moments with Mother Theresa are strange, but a nice touch. This is a good movie with good performances and a very good, detailed plot.