# Next Best Thing, The (2000)

### reviewed by
Matt Rettenmund

    THE NEXT BEST THING (PG-13)

Paramount Pictures/Lakeshore Entertainment. Director: John Schlesinger. Writer: Tom Ropelewski. Cast: Madonna, Rupert Everett, Benjamin Bratt, Kimberley Davies, Illeana Douglas, Stacy Edwards, Neil Patrick Harris, Lynn Redgrave.

    Reviewed by Matthew Rettenmund.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a Madonna fan. That said, I go to all of her movies with a sense of apprehension. After more than her fair share of atrocious movies (SHANGHAI SURPRISE, WHO'S THAT GIRL, FOUR ROOMS, GIRL 6 and BODY OF EVIDENCE spring to mind), Madonna's film career had at one point taken on the same "save me" quality that Marilyn Monroe's life had for fans and admirers.

But after acing EVITA with an almost-but-not-quite-Oscar-worthy deathbed scene as her greatest achievement, Madonna seems to have finally realized that it's better to wait for good material and well-tailored roles, a realization that rewards viewers in THE NEXT BEST THING.

John Schlesinger directed MIDNIGHT COWBOY. This is no MIDNIGHT COWBOY. He also directed EYE FOR AN EYE. Thankfully, this is no EYE FOR AN EYE.

THE NEXT BEST THING is a timely, warmly felt, sweetly funny film that offers a slice of life view of a contemporary friendship that suffers-but ultimately endures-some missteps. The friends are the yoga-teaching Abbie and the construction-working Robert. She's fabulous (but doesn't know it) and he's gay (but is tired of living stereotypically).

After a weak opening featuring Madonna's Abbie being dramatically dumped by her woefully miscast snake of a boyfriend (Michael Vartan), the bulk of the movie glides by with charming comic scenes that evoke smiles and also flesh out the main characters until they are like members of your own circle of friends.

Most delightful-and most artfully played and directed-is the drunken night the friends spend together in a picture-perfect showhome Robert's minding, trashing the place and getting trashed and having a ball. The direction here is haunting, as if you're viewing this as one of the best memories of your life. Madonna and Rupert make an excellent Fred and Ginger.

When Abbie winds up pregnant, the pair decide to live together and raise the child, which they do successfully until he's school-age.

At this point, Abbie meets a sexy yuppie played by Benjamin Bratt, and her priorities change. Now, she would like to follow him in marriage across the country, a move that would render Rupert a father in name only.

In what could have become a mess of complicated loyalties, THE NEXT BEST THING's single greatest asset is Rupert Everett, whose performance allows both Abbie and her future husband to be simultaneously sympathetic and also selfish, totally real. He accomplishes this by over-reacting himself, by being jealous and threatened, and by making one tragic mistake that threatens to push them all past the point of no return.

The courtroom scenes are perfunctorily directed, and yet the leads summon heartbreaking emotion before a slightly rushed conclusion.

In all, this is Madonna's most consistently entertaining film since A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN and is yet another reason to think of Rupert Everett as one of today's most gifted performers.

Gripes? Would have been wonderful to have seen more of the talented but wasted supporting cast...would have been even better to have heard the soundtrack put to practical use.

    But in all, this delightful film is a solid 8 out of 10.
    mattrett@aol.com

The review above was posted to the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due to ASCII to HTML conversion.

Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews