The Next Best Thing | | Cast : | Madonna, Rupert Everett | | Director : | John Schlesinger | | Studio : | Paramount Studio | | Format : | Color, Widescreen, Closed-captioned, Dolby | | Released Date : | March 03, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | March 12, 2002 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | May 21, 2005 | | Summary | Patronising | Content
 | This movie treats gays like preteens keen on, but too afraid to have sex with women. It reeks with anti-gay stereotypes without even being funny. It could be described as Madonna's ego trip delusion that all gay men are hot for her.
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| Rating | | | Date | April 17, 2005 | | Summary | It's not as bad as I thought | Content
| I saw this film after hearing enough of bad reputation of the film. Madonna does well in musicals because she can sing and dance, but acting is not something she is good at.
The story itself was not too bad. It was just that good acting was missing in the movie. I don't know why a smart hard working person like Madonna did so poorly in the film. With the interesting story they could have done better. It's too bad that it turned out like that. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 02, 2005 | | Summary | Disappointment from a great cast. | Content
| First, I'd like to say that I am a huge madonna fan. I own all of her CDs, many singles and many movies -- well, except this one.
Synopsis: In 'The Next Best Thing', Madonna and Rupert Everett play two best friends who have a drunken one night stand, resulting nine months later in the birth of their son. The problem? The father is gay. For six years everything is peachy until Madonna's character, Abbie, meets and becomes engaged to Ben Cooper, played by Bejamin Bratt. Now instead of creating a new-aged 'two daddies and a mommy' kind of family, they go into a full-out custody battle over their son, Sam.
The Problems: Despite great acting from great actors, the storyline goes from happy and feel-good to disappointing and quite frankly, depressing. Also, being gay myself, I was confused as to why Rupert and Madonna would have sex. This movie brings up the very sensitive subject of gay panenting. Instead of making a profound statement about modern families and gay parents, it avoids the issue altogether and leaves viewer asking "Isn't blood thicker than water?" 'The Next Best Thing' could have been a great movie and even a big step forward in the gay community, but fails without any effort.
The only redeeming quality of this movie is the AMAZING sountrack. Madonna, as always, contibutes fabulous songs. In this case it's her great cover of "American Pie" and the tearjerking ballad "Time Stood Still". Every song on this soundtrack is comepletely beautiful. My personal favorites are 'Swayambhu' by Solar Twins, 'Boom Boom Ba' by Metisse and 'Bongo Bong' by Manu Chao. So my advice to you: go buy 'Swept Away', 'Evita', and 'The Next Best Thing' soundtrack -- but avoid this movie. |
| Rating | | | Date | November 13, 2004 | | Summary | Worst Thing | Content
| This movie is a major disappointment mostly because it has a great idea (a gay man and straight woman raising a child) but the movie ultimately sabotages it and the result is indulgent, dull and smug. Although Madonna and Rupert Everett have a nice chemistry, that's about the only good thing about the movie. The script is terrible and the choices made seem less from the director than Madonna and Rupert themselves. Madge insisted her character be changed from a school teacher to a yoga instructor. It's silly and Madonna, like in many of her films except for Evita and Swept Away, never connects with the character. The strange lighting (especially around Madonna's eyes) is distracting and seems to take on a new type of lighting in film: "The Light Madonna This Way Lighting Technique".
A miserable experience. |
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