# The Next Best Thing

The Next Best Thing is a 2000 American comedy drama film directed by John Schlesinger (his final feature film before his death in 2003) about two best friends who have a child together and a custody battle years after. Starring Madonna, Rupert Everett, and Benjamin Bratt, it opened to the number-two position in the North American box office and poor critical reviews. The accompanying soundtrack album was appreciated by music critics. Its lead single, "American Pie" topped the charts in various countries, including Everett's native United Kingdom, and helped to introduce Don McLean's song to newer audiences.

## Plot

The film stars Madonna as Abbie Reynolds, a yoga instructor living in New York City, and Rupert Everett as Robert, her gay best friend. After Abbie unexpectedly becomes pregnant, she decides to raise the child together with Robert, as they both share a deep bond of friendship.
As Abbie’s relationship with Ben deepens, Robert is left to grapple with his own feelings of loneliness, jealousy, and confusion. He has always been deeply fond of Abbie, but now, his affection for her begins to blur the lines between friendship and love. Struggling with his own unspoken desires, Robert finds himself increasingly sidelined as Abbie embraces her new romantic life with Ben. He begins to feel that his place in their little family is diminishing, and he fears that Abbie is drifting away from the idealized life they had built together.
This emotional turmoil leads to a series of conflicts, as Robert wrestles with the complicated nature of his feelings for Abbie and his own identity. He begins questioning whether he is simply a "second choice" in her life, and if the love he feels for her is ever going to be reciprocated in the way he hopes. Meanwhile, Abbie is torn between her responsibilities as a mother and her desire for a traditional family unit with Ben. She wants to maintain the close bond with Robert that has always existed but struggles with balancing the emerging family dynamics.

## Cast

* Madonna as Abigail 'Abbie' Reynolds
* Rupert Everett as Robert Whittaker
* Benjamin Bratt as Benjamin 'Ben' Cooper
* Michael Vartan as Kevin Lasater
* Josef Sommer as Richard Whittaker
* Lynn Redgrave as Helen Whittaker
* Malcolm Stumpf as Samuel '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 Ashby
* Linda Larkin as Kelly
* Adam Marlow as Baby
* Kimberley Davies as Hostess
Cast taken from Variety and Turner Classic Movies listing of The Next Best Thing.

## Production

The film began as an original screenplay titled The Red Curtain by Tom Ropelewski, which he intended to direct, with his wife Leslie Dixon to produce. It was announced to be made in 1995 with Richard Dreyfuss attached to star as Robert; he dropped out, then Helen Hunt was named as female lead to play Abbie. She was replaced by Madonna and then Rupert Everett signed on as star. Filming took place between April 23 and June 30, 1999. It later was claimed the script was rewritten extensively by Ryan Murphy and Rupert Everett.

## Distribution

Paramount Pictures distributed the film in North America while international sales were held by Lakeshore International. Buena Vista International acquired distribution rights from Lakeshore in most territories.

## Reception
### Critical response

The Next Best Thing received a 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 94 reviews, with an average rating of 3.8/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Story elements clash and acting falls short." On Metacritic, the film has rating of 25 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Variety commented, "'The Next Best Thing' to a good movie is a well-intentioned one, and at the end of the day, that less-than-compelling consolation prize is about the best thing one can hand this resoundingly adequate Advanced Family Values comedy-drama". Roger Ebert gave the film one star out of four, stating: "The Next Best Thing is a garage sale of gay issues, harnessed to a plot as exhausted as a junkman's horse."

### Box office

The film opened at number two at the North American box office, making USD$5,870,387, behind The Whole Nine Yards. The film grossed $14,990,582 in the U.S. and $24,362,772 worldwide on a $25 million budget.

### Accolades

| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| YoungStar Award | Best Young Actor in a Comedy Film | Malcolm Stumpf | Nominated |
| GLAAD Media Award | Outstanding Film – Wide Release | The Next Best Thing | Nominated |
| Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Picture | The Next Best Thing | Nominated |
| Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Screenplay | John Kohn and Robert Bentley | Nominated |
| Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Actress | Madonna | Won |
| Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Screen Combo | Madonna and Rupert Everett | Nominated |
| Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Director | John Schlesinger | Nominated |
| Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Actress and Musician or Athlete Who Shouldn't Be Acting | Madonna | Won |
CNN film critic, Paul Clinton, named The Next Best Thing one of the Top 10 worst movies of 2000. In 2020, Screen Rant ranked Madonna's performance among her best movie roles.

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack album was released by Maverick Records on February 22, 2000. Madonna was executive producer on the soundtrack and hand-picked all the tracks that appeared. The album had two new songs from Madonna: "Time Stood Still" (an original track co-written and co-produced with William Orbit) and a cover of Don McLean's "American Pie". The album also included tracks by Moby, Beth Orton, Christina Aguilera, and Groove Armada.

### Reception
#### Critical response

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Baltimore Sun | |
| Calgary Herald | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
| Indiana Gazette | B |
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | |
| Portland Press Herald | B+ |
| The San Diego Union-Tribune | |
| Vancouver Sun | |
| Windsor Star | |
The soundtrack received generally positive feedback from music journalists. Various reviewers praised Madonna's hand-pick selection and Madonna's songs. Portland Press Herald editor Michael Histen called it a "strong collection" and complimented the release as a "cohesive collection, and one of the better soundtracks in quite some time". The Washington Post's Richard Harrington, described "Most of this soundtrack has a cool luster to it". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was overall positive towards the soundtrack, concluding "It's not great, but it's the next best thing". Kerry Gold, from Vancouver Sun, similarly described the album as "the next best thing to an excellent soundtrack".
Other reviewers praised soundtrack's dance-oriented songs. According to Billboard, the album is a "clubber's dream", and a "pop/dance punter's dream" that have "groovy mix of global beats" and "intertwines the old with the new". New York Daily News made similar remarks, complimenting the music style featured on the soundtrack, describing the album as "nouvelle electronica", "a revolutionary mix of woozy electronics and retro-lounge sounds". Writing for The Baltimore Sun, J. D. Considine considered "is the next best thing to a new Madonna album", further describing "anyone who was a fan of her last album, 1998's Ray of Light" will find much to like about The Next Best Thing. J. D. Considine complimented "Time Stood Still" as "far more convincing" describing it as "mournful, Latin-tinged ballad". Jim Farber, in his review for Orlando Sentinel overall praised the soundtrack, and also complimented "Time Stood Still" saying "her best ballad since 'Take a Bow'; vocally, Madonna "has never sounded more beautiful than on her other song". In a mixed response, Howard Cohen from the Miami Herald commented "American Pie" is the "best thing" on the album while "the rest is the usual soundtrack grab-bag of found oldies". Kevin C. Johnson, from St. Louis Post-Dispatch was overall critical calling the soundtrack a "horrific material". Courier News referred the soundtrack is "as impersonal as the film's storyline".

#### Commercial performance

The Next Best Thing debuted and peaked at number 34 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, staying at least 8 weeks on the chart. Two months after its release, in April 2000, the album had sold over 155,000 copies in the US according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album also charted in Austria, Germany and elsewhere. The song "American Pie" climbed to the top of charts in the UK, Italy, Australia, Germany, and other territories. "Time Stood Still" also reached the number 3 in Czech Republic.

### Impact

The soundtrack album helped boost US sales for British band Olive's album, Extra Virgin (1996). Billboard's Michael Paoletta commented, the band "stirred much interest of its sophomore album". "American Pie" also revived "interest in [Don] McLean's magnum opus" according to publications such as Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), and writer Nat Shapiro. Fred Bronson, chart columnist of Billboard, noted Madonna was the first artist to have a number-one song of an "American Pie" cover in the UK. It also extended Madonna's record of most-number one singles in the UK by a female artist; at that time, double that Whitney Houston and Kylie Minogue, with four each.

### Charts and sales

| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) | 16 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 19 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 55 |
| US Billboard 200 | 34 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Mexico | — | 40,000 |
| United States | — | 155,000 |

## Home media

On August 26, 2000, Billboard announced the film will debut on DVD and VHS from Paramount Home Entertainment, although spokespeople would not confirm it. The release debuted at number 20 on Billboard's Top DVD Sales, and peaked at number 11 on the Top Video Rentals chart. The Philadelphia Inquirer gave 2 out of four stars.