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The Next Best Thing
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
Madonna, Rupert Everett |
| MPAA Rated: |
PG-13 |
| Released By: |
Paramount
Pictures
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| Kiddie Movie: |
Nope.
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| Date Movie: |
Nope.
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| Gratuitous Sex: |
Nope.
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| Gratuitous
Violence: |
Nope.
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| Action: |
Nope.
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| Laughs: |
Nope.
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| Memorable
Scene: |
None.
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| Memorable
Quote: |
None.
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| Directed By: |
John Schlesinger
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| Produced By: |
Tom Rosenberg, Leslie Dixon, Linne Radmin
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The Next Best Thing
A Movie Review |
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I usually don’t read other reviewers reviews before
I review a movie for the simple fact that I don’t want
to inadvertently say the same thing they said, but for some
reason I read Roger Ebert’s review of "The Next Best
Thing" before I went to see it. Other than finding myself
agreeing with him on many counts, the one thing he brought
up that I had to so much agree with was who can get up the
next morning after a drinking binge ending up with sleeping
together and not need to get a couple of aspirin. Anyway,
this was just one of the things I couldn’t put together
after watching "The Next Best Thing."
Here we go. "The Next Best Thing" has Robert (Rupert
Everett) and Abbie (Madonna). Abbie, and for that matter
Robert, are both reaching that age where they can’t
stand it that they haven’t found Mr. and well, Mr.
Right. Abbie wants a kid and a husband, and Robert just
wants a life partner, but Robert and Abbie are best friends,
and one night after drinking too many cocktails they end up
trashing one of Robert’s clients fancy pad and then,
well, sleeping together. Yea, you guessed it, Abbie’s
pregnant, Robert is supposed to be the father, and Abbie
says she’s having the baby and wants Robert to be the
dad. Robert bites and they are all living happily ever after
until a few years later when Sam (Malcolm Stumpf), their
son, grows up a few years and wonders why mom and dad
aren’t like other moms and dads, and Abbie falls in
love with some dude who lives in New York but is in LA on
business. Does this scream potential problem that Abbie will
want to move to New York and take Sam with her leaving dad
Robert behind? Duh. So, yea, you now get Robert going to
court as a single, gay man, trying to get custody of his son
away from the mother who is a good mother, entering into a
marriage relationship with a guy with a stable job. What
chance in hell does Robert have? Duh. None. There is another
stupid twist in the story line, but I won’t spoil it
for you just in case you do go see this movie, which I
highly recommend you don’t.
I say don’t see this movie not because it isn’t
trying to break new ground, the likes of the mom and dad
happily raising a kid even though mom and dad aren’t
sleeping together, the likes of questioning if a care-giver
should have the rights of a father, the likes of how do you
tell kids nowadays about alternative lifestyles, and the
likes of people usually forgetting what the child may want.
The movie does try to do all of this, except it does it so
poorly that I just couldn’t take it anymore. The main
problem I had with "The Next Best Thing" – trying to
make the movie lighthearted and cute while taking on topics
that are anything but. My suggestion would have been to make
this movie as a deep drama, with actors and actresses who
can make you really care about the outcome, instead of the
happy-go-lucky approach turning into a court case based on a
potential new reality but which you can’t really care
about because Robert has no chance in hell with his lawyer.
That may have been a little confusing, but all I can say
it they tried to make very topical and very controversial
subjects and make them light-hearted enough that you really
don’t care who gets the kid. I just wanted the movie to
end, because I knew Robert would eventually be able to see
Sam again, and they would all live happily ever after which
probably wouldn’t happen in any reality. I give "The
Next Best Thing" 1 star out of 5.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the
Right!! L8R!!! |
