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Jeffrey

Through my Netflix subscription I checked out Jeffrey, a comedy about a gay man who is terrified by the threat of aids and therefore swears himself to celibacy. His resolve is put to the test when he meets the man of his dreams... who happens to be HIV positive.

The comedic highlight of the movie was when the main character, played by Steven Weber, calls his parents for advice. I thought that I'd imagined the worst of embarassing sex talks one could have with one's parents. I was wrong. I have five words for you: phone sex with your parents. Horrifying to experience, but hysterical to watch.

This independent film is based on a stage play which gave the movie a great style which you don't normally see on the screen. There was a bit of awkward writing in the dialogue, but the story, jokes, and characters were well done. Steven Weber did well in the role of Jeffrey, except for the fact that it was hard to believe that he was gay when it came to the kissing scenes. He just looked so awkward with it. Michael T. Weiss, who played the hunky HIV positive love interest, was especially unconvincing at portraying a gay guy and, in general, at delivering his lines.

Fortunately the rest of the cast more than made up for this weakness. In fact, one of the main characters was played by Patrick Stewart who was 300% believable as a gay man. He gave a brilliant and consistent performance. The movie also had tons of cameos from top name actors (Nathan Lane, Sigourney Weaver, Olympia Dukakis...) who were were totally commited to the freaky characters they played.

I'm so glad that I took the chance to try this movie. It was surprisingly witty and a whole lot of fun. I definitely recommend it. 7/10