The Next Best Thing

This article is about the 2000 film. For the 2007 TV series, see The Next Best Thing (TV series).

The Next Best Thing
Directed by	John Schlesinger
Produced by	Tom Rosenberg Leslie Dixon Linne Radmin Gary Lucchesi
Written by	Thomas Ropelewski
Starring	Madonna Rupert Everett Benjamin Bratt Michael Vartan Josef Sommer Lynn Redgrave
Music by	Gabriel Yared
Cinematography	Elliot Davis
Editing by	Peter Honess
Studio	Lakeshore Entertainment
Distributed by	USA/Canada: Paramount Pictures Overseas: Lakeshore Entertainment Buena Vista International
Release date(s)	March 3, 2000 (2000-03-03)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25 million
Box office	$24,362,772 [1]

The Next Best Thing is a 2000 American comedy-drama film, the final film directed by John Schlesinger. It stars Madonna, Rupert Everett, and Benjamin Bratt. It was a critical and commercial failure.

Plot

The film is a comedy-drama about best friends – one a straight woman, Abbie, the other a gay man, Robert – who decide to have a child together. Five years later, Abbie falls in love with a straight man and wants to move away with him and Robert's little boy Sam, and a nasty custody battle ensues.

Cast

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

Reception

The film was a critical and commercial flop. Madonna won a Razzie Award for Worst Actress, and the film was nominated for other Razzies including Worst Director, Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay. Critic Roger Ebert gave the movie one star, stating: "The Next Best Thing is a garage sale of gay issues, harnessed to a plot as exhausted as a junkman's horse."^[2]

It was nominated as Outstanding Film at the 2001 GLAAD Media Awards; losing out to Billy Elliot. The film opened at #2 at the North American box office making $5,870,387 USD, behind The Whole Nine Yards.

Soundtrack

The Next Best Thing (Music from the Motion Picture)
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	February 21, 2000
Recorded	November 1999
Genre	Soundtrack, Pop, Electronica, Dance
Length	49:31
Label	Maverick, Warner Bros.
Producer	Madonna, William Orbit, Various
Singles from The Next Best Thing
"American Pie" Released: March 3, 2000

The Next Best Thing' is a soundtrack album released by Maverick Records on February 21, 2000. It was released to accompany and promote the 2000 film, The Next Best Thing. It reached number 34 on the US Billboard 200 album chart. ^[3]

Madonna was executive producer on the soundtrack and hand-picked all the tracks that appear. The soundtrack went to Number 34 on the Billboard 200 and spawned one new single from Madonna. The album boasted two new songs from Madonna, "Time Stood Still" (an original track written and produced with William Orbit) and a cover of Don McLean's "American Pie." The latter track was a No. 1 around the world, climbing to the top of the charts in the UK, Australia, Germany and Japan. The album also included tracks by Moby, Beth Orton, Christina Aguilera and Groove Armada.^[4]

Track listing

1. "Boom Boom Ba" - Métisse
2. "Bongo Bong" - Manu Chao
3. "Don't Make Me Love You ('Til I'm Ready)" - Christina Aguilera
4. "American Pie" - Madonna
5. "This Life" - Mandalay
6. "If Everybody Looked the Same" - Groove Armada
7. "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" - Moby
8. "I'm Not in Love" - Olive
9. "Stars All Seem to Weep" - Beth Orton
10. "Time Stood Still" - Madonna
11. "Swayambhu" - Solar Twins
12. "Forever and Always" - Gabriel Yared

See also

• List of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender-related films by storyline

References

1. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=nextbestthing.htm
2. ^ http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000303/REVIEWS/3030307/1023
3. ^ http://www.madonna.com/discography/index/album/albumId/13/
4. ^ http://www.madonna.com/discography/index/album/albumId/13/

External links

• The Next Best Thing at the Internet Movie Database
• The Next Best Thing at AllRovi
• The Next Best Thing at Box Office Mojo
• Rupert Everett's writing on Madonna says quite a bit about making of this movie.