ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 1, 1995                   TAG: 9511010035
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MALCOLM JOHNSON THE HARTFORD COURANT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

STRONG CAST AND DIALOGUE ARE `JEFFREY'S' SAVING GRACES

``Jeffrey,'' Paul Rudnick's film adaptation of his off-Broadway hit about the problems of finding a mate in the era of AIDS, turns out to be a low-budget but glossy labor of love, carried by the wit of its writer and a superlative supporting cast.

Chief among the players is Patrick Stewart, who plays an urbane matchmaker-father figure in Jeffrey's gay circle. Over the course of Rudnick's darkening comedy, Stewart's portrait of a stylish, sometimes bitchy decorator named Sterling shifts from high camp to wrenching pathos and cutting anger. Stewart's performance brings edge and elan as well as depth and dignity to a film that might otherwise seem to be preaching a flippant and dangerous message.

The screenplay by Rudnick begins by sketching a romantic crisis in the life of its hero, played as the soul of innocence by boyish Steven Weber. One after another, Jeffrey encounters problems in his quest for great sex: a broken condom, a cuddle-bunny, a cynical hustler, a fickle pickup, a man in a surgical mask. The rest of the film details Jeffrey's denial of his passion for the bartender Steve - until Sterling finally breaks down the wall.

``Jeffrey'' almost seems a grab bag laced together by its protagonist's reflections on his fate. The loose framework robs the film of a strong through-line. But a cast that includes Sigourney Weaver and Nathan Lane puts such neat and sometimes outrageous spins on Rudnick's sharp dialogue that ``Jeffrey'' is constantly redeemed from its sketchiness and its reliance on at least one overdone gag involving a Mother Teresa look-alike.

``Jeffrey'' needs infusions of high-octane comedy from its guest stars because Weber, though deft, makes his naive hero a bit bland. And as the HIV-positive Steve, Michael T. Weiss is a bit one-dimensional too. The star-crossed couple projects none of the playful joie de vivre of Sterling and his young dancer-lover, Darius, played by Bryan Batt. Every scene with Stewart and Batt delivers at least one masterstroke.

But hilarious moments stud Rudnick's screenplay. His knack for dialogue and satire calls to mind some of the great screenwriters of Hollywood's golden era, so it is not surprising that so many stars flocked to this film.

Though Christopher Ashley's direction sometimes betrays his inexperience, he comes through in an AIDS fund-raiser sequence led by a chic Christine Baranski that culminates in a dance sequence that is part Busby Berkeley, part Village People.

Jeffrey

An Orion Classics release playing at The Grandin Theatre. 92 min. Rated R for strong sexuality and language. 


 by CNB