Line #8 Film/Jeffrey1995


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4	''Jeffrey'' is a 1995 American {{romantic comedy}} film directed by Christopher Ashley and written by Paul Rudnick, [[TheFilmOfThePlay based on]] the latter's 1992 play of the same name.
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6	In [[UsefulNotes/TheNineties 1990s]] Manhattan during the height of the AIDS epidemic, Jeffrey (Creator/StevenWeber) has [[VowOfCelibacy vowed celibacy]] because of his paranoia around the disease. However, he's put to the test when he meets Steve (Creator/MichaelTWeiss), an attractive man he laters learns is HIV-positive, forcing him to confront his fear of falling in love someone in the face of inevitable death. Creator/PatrickStewart also stars as Jeffrey's mentor Sterling.
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8	As one of the ''very'' few gay-themed films of its era, and one of the fewer to positively portray a gay lifestyle, ''Jeffrey'' became a cult hit with LGBTQ audiences. It was also notable for {{breaking the fourth wall}}, with Jeffrey often addressing the audience, and its parade of {{Celebrity Cameo}}s including Creator/NathanLane, Creator/ChristineBaranski, Creator/VictorGarber, Creator/KathyNajimy, and Creator/SigourneyWeaver.
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11	!! ''Jeffrey'' contains examples of:
12	* AllGaysArePromiscuous: Defied by Jeffrey, who is purposefully trying to avoid casual sex at all costs as to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS, but played straight by Creator/VictorGarber's "sexual compulsive," who claims he's already given oral sex to three different people in one day at a sex addiction counseling session.
13	* BetaCouple: Sterling and Darius are this to Jeffrey and Steve.
14	* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler:Jeffrey and Steve when [[RelationshipUpgrade they finally get together]]]].
15	* BreakingTheFourthWall: Jeffrey often addresses the audience, but Darius also does this himself at one point, which doesn't go noticed or commented upon by Jeffrey.
16	* BuryYourGays: Downplayed. [[spoiler:Darius dies of AIDS, but Steve doesn't]].
17	* ButNotTooGay: Discussed. When Sterling and Darius suggest they're nonthreatening to straight people, Jeffrey debates them on why gay people should have to make themself palatable to heterosexuals.
18	* CampGay: Darius is a ''very'' flamboyant Broadway actor starring in ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'', contrasting Jeffrey.
19	* CastFullOfGay: Another reason why the film was so notable for its time is the fact that it almost exclusively features gay characters in major roles.
20	* CharacterTitle: Simply titled ''Jeffrey'' after its main character.
21	* ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere: Jeffrey's abstinence is constantly challenged by the men he sees throughout the city, including his gym and a gay funeral.
22	* CompressedAbstinence: Jeffrey's vow of abstinence is put to the test when he meets Steve, whom he is very attractive to but hesitant to get involved with.
23	* DeadPersonConversation: [[spoiler:Jeffrey has one with Darius after he dies, who encourages him to live his life in spite of the looming threat of AIDS]].
24	* DefinitelyJustACold: [[spoiler:Darius shrugs off a bout of sickness that is actually AIDS, and eventually dies]].
25	* DoubleEntendre: "Great set," which could either refer to Jeffrey's workout with Steve, or Steve's testicles hanging above Jeffrey's head.
26	* FirstGuyWins: [[spoiler:Steve breaks up with his new boyfriend and ends up with Jeffrey]].
27	* ForcefulKiss: Steve comes on ''very'' strong when he and Jeffrey first meet, which he later apologizes for.
28	* GagPenis: A man at the addiction counseling session claims to have a ''fourteen'' inch-long penis.
29	* GrandRomanticGesture: [[spoiler:Jeffrey makes a big coup to win back Steve after they stop speaking for a while, which works]].
30	* GuyOnGuyIsHot: After Jeffrey and Steve kiss for the first time at the gym, the film cuts to an audience watching the film, which elicits squeals out of two young women.
31	* GymBunny: Steve fits the profile of one, and is specifically introduced at the gym.
32	* HeteronormativeCrusader: Sigourney Weaver's "post-modern evangelist" shames Jeffrey for his homosexuality and blames gay people for getting HIV/AIDS.
33	* {{Hunk}} / ManlyGay: Steve is presented as very masculine and desirable to Jeffrey, with a {{carpet of virility}}, bulging muscles, and a chiseled jawline.
34	* InopportuneVoiceCracking: When Jeffrey meets Steve, his voice cracks, prompting him to try to deepen his voice to its normal state.
35	* InsistentTerminology: Sterling isn't a decorator, he's an ''interior designer''.
36	* LoveAtFirstSight: Jeffrey and Steve share a lingering glance before they formally introduce themselves.
37	* LoverAndBeloved: Sterling is older than his boyfriend Darius by a few decades.
38	* OnscreenChapterTitles: The film is divided into chapters that are demarcated with title screens.
39	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler:Sterling, usually very warm and jovial, turns cold and rejective to Jeffrey after Darius dies of AIDS]].
40	* OpenMindedParent: Jeffrey and his friends meet the mother of a pre-op transgender lesbian, who explains [[AnAesop it is important to be supportive of your children no matter who they are]].
41	* PrideParade: An extended sequence takes place as the organization of a gay pride parade.
42	* QueerPeopleAreFunny: Discussed. Jeffrey auditions to play a tough police officer, but when it doesn't work out, he's stuck with playing a {{camp gay}} who serves as comedic relief.
43	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Jeffrey gets a posthumous one from [[spoiler:Darius, who is told by Sterling that the former looked down on Jeffrey for being such a miserable sadsack about his celibacy, whereas Darius was sick but living his life as though he weren't]].
44	* SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny: Downplayed by Creator/NathanLane's priest, who attempts to cruise Jeffrey at a church. he actually encourages Jeffrey to have sex in spite of his situation.
45	* SexIsGood: The film has an overall sex positive message, where even a clergyman and two church ladies call out Jeffrey's decision to go celibate. The film also takes a stance on not regarding people with HIV/AIDS as undesirable lepers, but people who can have perfectly healthy sex lives.
46	* ShoutOut: To the musical ''Nice Work If You Can Get It'' after Jeffrey is jumped by {{heteronormative crusaders}}.
47	* StraightGay: Neither Jeffrey nor Steve are especially flamboyant, and could easily be mistaken for straight if their courtship wasn't central to the plot. Discussed later at the gay pride event, where a news anchor refers to Jeffrey as a "normal" one among some of his more more flamboyant crew.
48	* TheTalk: When Jeffrey calls home to his parents, they inadvertently get into a discussion about gay sex, which he's not pleased about.
49	* TakeThat: At the gay pride event in Central Park, various groups of LGBTQ people are shouted out and met with applause... except the {{gay conservative}}s.
50	* TragicAIDSStory: Downplayed, which is one of the reasons why the film was so notable during the time of its release. While there is a character who dies of AIDS [[spoiler:(Darius)]], the overall tone of the film is more upbeat than not, and ends on a positive note.
51	* VowOfCelibacy: Jeffrey's drives the plot of the film.
52	* WaitingForABreak: Jeffrey is an unemployed actor currently working as a catering waiter, much to his chagrin.
53	* WillTheyOrWontThey: Jeffrey's courtship with Steve runs throughout the film. [[spoiler:They do]].

Context Film / Jeffrey1995