The Next Best Thing (eng)
Abbie (Madonna) and Robert (Rupert Everett) are best friends with so much in common - a joyful, unconventional approach to life; quick wit and intelligence; an endearing impulsiveness...and miserable luck in love. They would make the perfect couple, but one thing prevents them from looking to each other for romance - Robert is gay. A day comes, however, when too many cocktails and a twist of fate takes them to a new level of intimacy... and turns them into parents. A whole new world has opened up for them, and for the sake of Sam, their child, Abbie and Robert decide to live together as a family. Theirs may not be the perfect family - but it is the next best thing

I have been an avid fan of Rupert Everett since he caught my attention in 'My Best Friend's Wedding' opposite Julia Roberts. The only complaint was that he was not featured more prominently. He is such a scene-stealer with his suave, cool and sophisticated manner. Ah, and that impeccable British accent. Sign, too bad he's gay. For those not in the know, yes, he is gay!

Hence it is with much anticipation to watch (and drool) over him in 'The Next Best Thing' opposite Madonna, but it proved to be a letdown.

It is difficult to take Madonna seriously, even though she has garnered some level of respectability since her days of the 'Material Girl' and 'Like a Virgin'. She had tried to break into filmdom with flops such as 'Body of Evidence'. Surprisingly though, age seems to agree with her as she showed some bit of talent in Evita.

However director John Schlesinger erred big time in casting Madonna opposite Rupert Everett in 'The Next Best Thing'. Try as much as she would, she gave a wooden and unconvincing performance. She plays Abbie, who is the best of pals with opposite Rupert Everett's Robert. After being unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend, Abbie cries on the shoulder of her gay best friend, Robert. After one drunken fling - finds herself unexpectedly pregnant by Robert

Unconventional as it is, Abbie and Robert live together to raise their son, remaining the best of pals until Abbie met Ben (Benjamin Bratt). With prospects of marriage and a move away from the home they now share, the drama starts here. Determined to keep his son, Roberts takes legal action and ended up losing more than he bargained for, and Abbie turns into a villain, though not by choice.

Rupert Everett is still the scene-stealer here, he's funny, self-deprecating and enormously sympathetic in the distinctive way that's become his trademark. But he is pulled down by Madonna's weak, strained and unconvincing performance. One has got to appreciate that she is determined and tries hard, and perhaps that is the downfall, for it shows through. Sad to say, she just doesn't have the kind of charisma that can carry a movie

However, the movie has good intentions and the element of surprise - it's never quite clear where it's going at any given point. My point of contention is: Watch this movie only if you are a fan of Rupert Everett, and also if you are a fan of Madonna (are there any out there anyway?), otherwise, you will find it draggy and terminally slow, if you survive it.