Jeffrey, a gay man living in New York City with an overwhelming fear of contracting AIDS, concludes that being celibate is the only option to protect himself. As fate would have it, shortly after his declaration of a sex-free existence, he meets the handsome Steve Howard, his dream man -- except for his HIV-positive status. Facing this dilemma, Jeffrey turns to his best friend and an outrageous priest for guidance.
Steven Weber
Jeffrey
Patrick Stewart
Sterling
Michael T. Weiss
Steve Howard
Bryan Batt
Darius
Nathan Lane
Father Dan
Sigourney Weaver
Debra Moorhouse
Olympia Dukakis
Mrs. Marcangelo
Robert Klein
Skip Winkley
Christine Baranski
Ann Marwood Bartle
Kathy Najimy
Acolyte
Debra Monk
Mom
Peter Maloney
Dad
J. Smith-Cameron
Sharon
K. Todd Freeman
Barney's Waiter
Victor Garber
Tim
Ethan Phillips
Dave
Camryn Manheim
Single Woman
Alice Drummond
Grandma Rose
Peter Jacobson
Man #1
David Thornton
Man #3
Irma St. Paule
Mother Teresa
Jeff Ross
Movie Theater Guy
Joe Dain
Movie Theater Guy
Patrick Kerr
Waiter / Actor / Policeman
Peter Bartlett
Casting Director
John Seidman
Boss
Barton Heyman
Elderly Man
Darryl Theirse
Homeboy
Lou Sumrall
Thug #1
Robert Capelli Jr.
Thug #2
Vince Cupone
Thug #3
Nancy Ticotin
Woman in the Window
Gregory Jbara
Angelique
Marylouise Burke
Aunt Phyllis
Sarah Peterson
Nurse
Joe Ponazecki
Uncle Barney
Henry Stram
Cousin Gary
Kevin Nealon
TV Reporter
Director
Christopher Ashley
Screenplay
Paul Rudnick
April 16, 2025
6
I kept expecting Sir Ian McKellen to pop up here to compliment the entertainingly camp contribution from his best pal Patrick Stewart in this otherwise rather unremarkable story. It’s all about “Jeffrey” (Steven Weber) who is one of those actors-cum-waiters who merrily enjoys the fruits of his New York existence until the arrival of AIDS turn him into a sexually neurotic monk. No more nookie for him, it’s all about his career - and, yep, that just frustrates the poor man. Things aren’t exactly helped by his flamboyant pal “Sterling” (Stewart) who has a much younger and HIV+ boyfriend “Darius” (Bryan Batt) who keeps telling him that he needs to get laid more. Then he bumps into “Steve” (Michael T. Weiss) and they take to each other. Snag? Well it turns out that “Steve” is also positive and so “Jeffrey” is now faced with quite a dilemma. On the plus side, this drama does showcase the extent to which many gay people donned a psychological, if not actually a physical, suit of armour when the AIDS epidemic struck. Terrified of the consequences of their previous license and/or determined never to take risks again - however that “risk” might be defined or apply, practically, to their life and lifestyle. On that front, Weber does OK and at times the whole thing comes across quite touchingly, but sadly there’s too much emphasis on the stereotypes and the writing takes refuge all too often in the realms of that kind of gay comedy that Armistead Maupin might have written on a bad day. It’s all a question of living life to the full or living in fear, but somehow any semblance of sensible and responsible compromise is not on the agenda here and so it all rather falls between a predictable set of tram lines. It has it’s moments, but in the end it’s just so-so.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$3,487,767.00