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.