I watched "Jeffrey" with my Husband earlier tonight. I had meant to watch it for years, but it was a "gay" film, a genre which I love, but often eschew because these films always make me think--even "La Cage aux Folles" had a deep and abiding lesson or two hidden inside.) The themes often involve intolerance, and the traumatic impact of AIDS on the entire gay community; even if the film is a comedy, I find these themes fill me with empathic pain and frustration. I decided to brave those themes despite my female tear ducts this evening, and I was glad I did.
This film was silly. This film was witty. The dialogue is sparkling. All those things made it wonderful to watch. The characters we meet are intriguing, and though the 2-dimensional stereotypes are made for laughs, we get the feeling that we are laughing at the strange mix of truth and falsehood many of the stereotypes possess; we are laughing not at people who are "flaming" but at characters who are exuberant, joyous people, trying to squeeze every bit of joy and delight that they can out of every moment.
I won't spoil the journey through this story with any specifics, let's just say that Jeffrey doesn't quite get it. It is both painful and joyful at turns watching the character navigate through a turning point in his life. I laughed, I got choked up, and then I laughed again, and again ad infinitum. This is not a "gay" movie. It's a character driven story that we can all identify with, if our minds and hearts are open.
