The Next Best Thing (2000)

It's 1992. Abbie Reynolds (Madonna) is an L.A. yoga teacher. Her best friend Robert Whittaker (Rupert Everett) is gay. She gets dumped by music producer boyfriend Kevin Lasater (Michael Vartan). They go to the funeral of their friend David (Neil Patrick Harris)'s gay partner Joseph. Abbie wants a baby and Robert assists during one drunken night. She gets pregnant. His father (Josef Sommer) is angry while his mother (Lynn Redgrave) is happy. Abbie and Robert decide to raise the baby together. As their boy Sam grows up, their simple arrangement gets less simple. Sam has questions. Abbie starts dating perplexed Ben Cooper (Benjamin Bratt). Robert hires Elizabeth Ryder (Illeana Douglas) to sue for custody.This should be a drama. There seems to be a desire for this to be a comedy but the subject matter does not allow the funny. At best, this could be Kramer vs Kramer and I can't see how that could be accomplished either. It's really a hopeless case and Madonna does not help. They could rewrite this a million more times and it still won't work. It's all problematic and the child seems to be lost in the mayhem.

Mercilessly condemned by viewers and professional critics, this comedy-drama is not very good; but I have seen films that are a lot worse. A young woman named Abbie (Madonna), who is straight, has a one-night fling with her best friend Robert (Rupert Everett), who is gay. The result is that she gets pregnant. Abbie and Robert agree to raise the child together; but complications ensue when Abbie falls in love with someone else.The first part of the film is lighthearted, and plays like a music video, with some good songs, like "Steppin' Out With My Baby". By the time we get into the second half, however, the lightheartedness has morphed into bitterness and controversy, a change in tone that is jarringly out of sync with earlier sequences.But an even bigger problem is the casting of the two leads, and the Robert character. Madonna tries hard to be a convincing Abbie; her performance isn't bad, really it isn't; she's just a little too wooden. But her celebrity persona as a musical pop star overwhelms all effort to make her seem like some average homebody. As a result, I would have preferred another actress.I did not care for Robert at all, with his exaggerated attempts at witty banter and his fluttering about, typical gay stereotyped behavior, vain and self-absorbed. Later, he becomes rigid in his ability to compromise, a character contrivance that only serves to advance the film's plot. And then Rupert Everett, with his hammy overacting, makes the already flamboyant Robert character almost unendurable. Everett's British accent in a Southern California setting is totally out of place. Almost any other actor of comparable age could have rendered a less painful performance.What makes the film bearable is some good music, including Don McClean's old song "American Pie", and a nifty performance by Malcolm Stumpf as the child, a performance that was thankfully lacking in precocious behavior so often seen in child characters.If they had reworked the script in such a way as to have a more consistent storyline, toned down the Robert character, and chosen different performers for the two lead roles, "The Next Best Thing" might have been better received. As is, the film is interesting mainly for its music, and as a textbook case of what can go wrong when script and casting mistakes are not corrected.

I think that this movie is definitely intended for Madonna's target audience...The gay's, her fans, and girls. Overall I think the movie is a chick flick but it definitely keeps your attention. I liked it. Not the best acting, especially on Madonnna's part. But hey you can't get experience without bettering yourself as a performer. The result was this movies acting. It's a fun, young, fresh movie and I would encourage people to be open minded and go rent it. It's worth a try! If you like Madnna's music and you're a fan, in general I would like to think that you would probably like to see this movie. I know I sure did. Remember, be open minded...

I know from 'Desperately Seeking Susan', 'Dick Tracy' and 'Evita' that Madonna can act. At first, I felt that something was missing from her performance here. I finally concluded that she has the talent for romantic comedy and for pleasant drama, but at least in this movie, when it comes to unpleasant drama, she hasn't got it.Madonna was so warm and caring as a mother. If this is how she is with her own child, I have confidence the child will probably turn out all right. She also made a convincing yoga teacher. I didn't care that much for the yoga class, except for the one clumsy newcomer.Rupert Everett gave the standout performance here as the gay best friend. I thought his best scene was the one where he asked for Abbie's keys. I liked his taste in music, too. I may be straight, but I'll choose Frank or Judy any time. Also that song that Abbie and Robert were dancing to when they knocked over the furniture. Madonna's own music, on the other hand ... well, actually, I don't dislike her as much as others who perform in the same style.The movie nearly got off track toward the end, but the ending was satisfying and didn't make things too easy for the characters. There was a challenge to overcome that actually added to the movie.This was pretty good. Not great.