Jeffrey, the eagerly awaited feature film version of Paul Rudnick's award-winning, off-Broadway play, is a poignant romantic comedy about one man's search for love and intimacy in the '90s. An uproariously funny and often touching exploration of love in the midst of the AIDS crisis, it is the story of Jeffrey, a young gay actor/waiter who, having decided to become celibate when the risk of AIDS has taken all the joy out of sex, finally meets "Mr. Right" and struggles with the issues of dating, love and commitment.

According to screenwriter/producer Paul Rudnick, bringing humor to the devastating tragedy of the AIDS crisis was a prime objective in writing the comedy. "During the early days of the epidemic, humor, sexuality, and even music seemed questionable in the face of so much horror. They very quickly became essential. There is still no cure for this disease; sometimes wisecracks and irony are the only defense. AIDS is not the end of gay life or gay laughter..."

Jeffrey's humorous exploits range from a fantasy game show entitled "It's Just Sex!," hosted by smarmy Skip Winkley (Robert Klein), to a bizarre encounter with Mrs. Marcangelo (Olympia Dukakis), the proud mother of a "pre-operative transsexual lesbian son." Initially, getting actors to commit to the controversial project was difficult. "We had a lot of gay and straight people pass on the roles," says producer Victoria Maxwell. "We heard all types of excuses..." "Some people were nervous because we were asking them to make jokes about AIDS," says Rudnick. "Others didn't want to play gay characters, claiming they couldn't relate to the material, feeling more comfortable as vampires or serial killers."

Fortunately, Sigourney Weaver changed all that. The actress's agreeing to play the pivotal but flashy role of the New Age evangelist Debra Moorhouse created newfound interest overnight. "Jeffrey reminds me of a very witty and ironic Doris Day picture, only it's a guy who swears off sex instead of a girl, for far more compelling reasons than her reputation," says Weaver. "As for the movie being controversial, I find it pretty weird, as a New Yorker, that a love story between men is still controversial. Indeed, it's possible to see Jeffrey in the cinematic canon of It Happened One Night or Bringing Up Baby..."