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The Next Best Thing (2000)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 3.6/10
Reviews Counted: 91
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 74

Story elements clash and acting falls short.

Average Rating: 3.3/10
Critic Reviews: 27
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 24

Story elements clash and acting falls short.

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Average Rating: 2.6/5
User Ratings: 15,972

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Movie Info

Best buddies Abbie (Madonna), a heterosexual yoga instructor, and Robert (Rupert Everett), a gay landscaper, cope with failed relationships, the approach of middle age, and the AIDS-related death of a mutual friend by sticking together as a "family of choice." Drunk one night, they have sex, and when Abbie turns up pregnant, they decide to move in together and raise the child as decidedly unconventional co-parents. Flash forward several years and Abbie begins dating Ben (Benjamin Bratt), an

PG-13, 1 hr. 48 min.

Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

Directed By: John Schlesinger

Written By: Tom Ropelewski

In Theaters: Mar 3, 2000 Wide

On DVD: May 2, 2005

Paramount Home Video

The Next Best Thing Trailer & Photos

Cast

Rupert Everett
Robert
Madonna
Abbie
Benjamin Bratt
Ben
Michael Vartan
Kevin
Josef Sommer
Richard Whittaker
Lynn Redgrave
Helen Whittaker
Malcolm Stumpf
Sam
Neil Patrick Harris
David
Illeana Douglas
Elizabeth Ryder
Mark Valley
Cardiologist
Suzanne Krull
Annabel
Stacy Edwards
Finn

Critic Reviews for The Next Best Thing

All Critics (107) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (74) | DVD (10)

The two leads have a wonderful chemistry together.

January 1, 2000 Comment

F.X. Feeney

Mr. Showbiz

Top Critic

Madonna's charisma as a personality has never translated particularly well to the big screen.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Salon.com

| Comment

Stephanie Zacharek

Salon.com

Top Critic

Ultimately, the film works because Schlesinger handles the comedy-to-drama transition with skill.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: ReelViews

| Comment

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Top Critic

Yet another film of missed opportunities in which provocative ideas are destroyed -- in this case, by either the lame writing of Thomas Ropelewski or the timid direction of John Schlesinger, or possibly both.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee

| Comment

Joe Baltake

Sacramento Bee

Top Critic

The moment the movie loses its lighthearted spirit is the moment it loses touch with reality.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Stephen Holden

New York Times

Top Critic

A pleasing but mindless diversion that goes down well with buttered popcorn and a large Coke.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: CNN.com

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(CNN.com) Paul Clinton

CNN.com

Top Critic

1980s teen-sex comedy that actually has an IQ.

December 11, 2009 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

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Charles Cassady

Common Sense Media

The very first scene in the new Madonna movie The Next Best Thing stumbles and the movie never recovers.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

This astonishingly bad tearjerker, a Fannie Hurst weepie with a gay twist, is as phony as a three-dollar bill and just about as entertaining.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion

| Comment

Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

Well-intentioned but heavy-handed.

September 9, 2002 Full Review Source: Film Journal International

| Comment

Eric Monder

Film Journal International

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Next Best Thing

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Rupert and Madonna re friends who have a drunken night.

July 14, 2007

Candy Rose

Super Reviewer

Will someone PLEASE tell Madonna to stick to the day job?? She's just embarrassing herself...and someone should tell Rupert Everett that having an english accent isn't enough to carry a film outside of the US' female demographic.

December 24, 2006