The Next Best Thing
THE NEXT BEST THING (15)
D: John Schlesinger
Paramount/Lakeshore (Tom Rosenberg, Leslie Dixon &
Linne Radmin)
US 2000
108 mins
Comedy/Drama
W: Thomas Ropelewski
DP: Elliott Davis
Ed: Peter Honess
Mus: Gabriel Yared
Madonna (Abbie Reynolds), Rupert Everett (Robert
Whittaker), Benjamin Bratt (Ben Cooper), Michael Vartan (Kevin Lasater), Josef Sommer (Richard Whittaker), Neil Patrick Harris (David)
The next worse thing pairs Madonna and Rupert Everett as
one of the worst on-screen partnerships of modern times.
After a one-night stand together, despite Everett's
character being gay, Madonna finds that she's become pregnant, and the two decide to raise the child together.
The biggest issue here is that there's absolutely no
chemistry between the two main characters, even platonically. The insult is that it all seems a big ego project for Madonna, who has the power to change someone's sexual
orientation.
As a drama it's without any dramatic issues and as a
comedy it's completely bereft of laughs. Inept.
2/10
