Rating: 
Summary: i loved it...
Review: Personally, i've seen the movie a million times and I really liked it. It's not a classic or anything like that, but it the kind of film that you could hang out with you friends watching. I liked Madonna's acting and Rupert was cool too.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment on Wheels
Review: This is a hateful, hateful movie...I don't think Madonna is a terrible actress - she'll never be "a movie star", but she isn't that bad (minus some occasional over-acting)...and she isn't bad in this movie...she is not the one who ruined it. It's the storyline that is horrible...I started watching this movie, not expecting much. About half way through the film, so far, so good - it held my interest and I was entertained. Then it seems as though the writers had no idea where to take this movie, and it went downhill fast..We all know the plot - Abbie gets pregnant by her best friend, a homosexual man (Rupert Everett), and they decide to raise the child together. Enter Benjamin Bratt, who wants to marry Abbie and move to New York. Rupert doesn't want his son to live on the other side of the country, and a nasty custody battle ensues....ok, I thought Madonna's character and Rupert's character were supposed to be the bestest of buddies...I thought that was the basis of the film...who better to raise a child than 2 great friends til the end??? The degree to which these 2 slam each other in the custody suit is ridiculous and depressing. So much for being best friends....Their treatment of each other pretty much invalidated the entire movie for me. Just plain awful.
Rating: 
Summary: What Dubbing Can't Do
Review: The problem with this movie is that at a certain point Madonna becomes what G.B.Shaw defined as an "unpleasant" character, and she simply can't handle it. Any good actress, or any actress period, could. Studio Universal tells me she had the script changed so that she could do Yoga, and I'm sure she changed it ulteriorly (like when she says at the end "WE made a mess of this"). What DIFFERENCE does it make? I would go even further: a good portrayal of an "unpleasant" character is probably the best thing you could ever do as an actor or actress.
It's a shame she was cast for this, because besides her, the movie is one of those little gems in many, many ways.
Pace. PB
Rating:
Summary: John Schlesinger hits rock bottom with this effort
Review: Amber (Madonna) is a single woman in her late 30s whose biological clock is ticking, but she is unable to find the right man to father her child. Her ex has just dumped her so her loneliness leads her to seek comfort in the arms of her best friend Robert (Rupert Everett) who happens to be gay. But one 4th of July the drunken pair have a one night stand. Just one of those stupid spur of the moment things; not unlike shampooing your hair with methylated spirits and drying it off with a blowtorch. Life is strange. Well, Madge ends up preggers and wants to keep the baby. But soon she falls in love with Benjamin Bratt...
The unconventional family angle present here will raise the ire of many a United Future MP (which in my opinion is always a good thing), but really that's the only positive comment I can make about this drivel. THE NEXT BEST THING is by turns unconvincing, pompous and soapy. How could John "Midnight Cowboy" Schlesinger of all people, make a movie like this?
However, there are a few unintentional laughs scattered here and there. Early on Madonna screams at her ex, just before he leaves her: "What you want is a bimbo! And that's exactly what you deserve!". Dramatic irony? Speaking of dramatics, Madonna's acting is still awful (her accent is fluctuating between Brit and Yank), but she's still quite attractive here. Obviously the lighting tech on this film was really deserving of his paycheck. The movie gets 2 stars simply because it's still far superior to Madonna's most recent cinematic regurgitation, SWEPT AWAY. But just because I use the word "superior" it doesn't mean this is any good either. Anyhoo; each to their own, I say.
Extras include the trailer, cast and crew interviews and Madonna's video of her butchering AMERICAN PIE.
Rating:
Summary: Wished for more....
Review: I had high expectations for this movie and anticipated what I should expect with controversial storyline and the incredible cast. However, it saddens me that the movie lacked realism and honesty. Being a huge Madonna fan, I really was hoping for more, but her performance felt forced and lacked sincerity. I felt most of the performaces individually were outstanding, but with Madonna's "acting" the film just didn't work. I do encourage you to see it, explore it, and make your own opinions, but that is mine and I'm staying woth it.
Rating:
Summary: A pleasant surprise....
Review: After reading all the negative comments on The Next Best Thing I was dubious about buying the DVD, but just couldn't resist seeing how Madonna performed.The movie itself is very good - not without flaws, but still enjoyable and immensely watchable. The courtroom scenes are particularly well done. Now for the $50000 question - how does Madonna perform??? In my opinion exceptionally well. She has really matured as an actress during her 20+year career. She seems considerably more comfortable in front of the movie camera , and after the first few minutes of the film I forgot I was watching Madonna and I believed her characterization of Abbie. A lovely film to watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Rating:
Summary: The Next Best Thing to a Good Movie? Not Even Close.
Review: "The Next Best Thing" attempts to accomplish three things: provide a realistic portrait of "unconventional" families that include a gay parent, promote tolerance for people regardless of sexual orientation, and, most daunting of all, show that its star, Madonna, can act after all. On all three counts, the movie fails. And miserably it does. Madonna is Abbie, a thirtysomething woman who, having been dumped by her boorish boyfriend, desperately tries to "settle down" with a husband and raise a family before it's "too late." On one evening, she and her gay pal (Rupert Everett) get severely intoxicated and later discovers she's pregnant (don't ask). They decide to move in together and raise the kid. That's as much as I can say without revealing spoilers, but I'll go ahead and add that "The Next Best Thing" is an exercise in across-the-board ineptitude. Madonna's performance just isn't convincing enough to earn our sympathy; she whines, pouts, and tries too hard to register with the audience. The rest of the characters are badly stereotyped: we have the queens who spend all hours discussing legendary Hollywood actresses, the tough-as-nails Black judge, and the thuggish, fried chicken-eating homophobic rappers. Worst of all is the script, which unnecessarily adds twist after twist in a desperate attempt to give the movie its much-needed dramatic thrust. Like "Mommie Dearest" and other camp classics, "The Next Best Thing" is entertaining for all but the right reasons. If you're looking for a movie to laugh AT but not laugh WITH, this flick is a perfect Saturday night rental. Otherwise, prepare thyself to be bored and insulted.
Rating: 
Summary: ALGO MUY PERFECTO
Review: SUPER... LA PELICULA ME ENCANTO PQ. REFLEJA LA LUCHA Y LOS SENTIMIENTOS MUY BUENA, Y SU PROMO SUPER-BRUTAL
Rating:
Summary: Total bust in all directions
Review: I had some respect for Madonna before I saw this. But -- no more! If they had set out to make a movie with three characters -- a quintessential "today's woman, a gay man, and a stereotypical stock-character arrogant, self-centered jerk of a "straight" man, then trying to make them equal by making everybody look bad, they could have hardly done a better job than with this film! No heroes or heroines here -- everybody just double-crosses everybody. If they had tried to make it into a zany comdedy after the manner of A FISH CALLED WANDA or the more slapstick parts of MR. DEEDS, they might have had some success. But as is, THE NEXT BEST THING tries to be a serious movie without any real redeeming value. The line that stands out most in my memory is when Madonna's character expresses disappointment in her gay friend by saying, "As a gay man, I expected better from you." So much for not putting people "on pedestals" and so much for any thought that equality really means equality! What COULD this be the next best thing to? Yeast infections maybe?
Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: This movie is mediocre. It's worth watching one time. Madonna actually gives a good performance in this movie, and so does Rupert Everette. This movie could have been really good if it hadn't been pulled into so many directions. This movie is never sure of what direction it wants to go in. The plot twist towards the end of the movie is completely ridiculous. Sam should have been Robert's biological son. The movie was trying to portray unconventional families, but when it's revealed that Sam is not Robert's son, it destroys the whole concept of the movie. The dialog was so horrible. Nobody heaps a bunch of compliments on someone when they are breaking up with them, and the dialog in the courtroom scene is so unrealistic that it's funny. Madonna is not to blame for this movie being a bomb. The script and dialog is why this movie is ignored and mediocre.
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