Product: The Next Best Thing (2000)
Rating: 3.0
Mediocre film........
I'm a huge fan of Madonna and in the past two years I've become a big fan of Rupert Everett, that's mainly why I bought this video. I wasn't sure what to expect going into the film, mainly because of the bad reviews the movie received after it's release. I give it three stars, solely because I like the two main actors. The script itself has some problems and like the review above mentions, it seems at times it was rushed and almost like a rough draft of a script. I just wasn't buying what some of the characters were saying to each other. It seemed trite, and the language seemed like something straight out of a bad 80's movie. I also disagree with the review above when it states that Madonna is the most relaxed she's ever been in a film! That's so not true, if anything she seemed more tense to me. And what the heck is going on with that accent? Sometimes it was painfully obvious and at other times it seemed to fade. I like her a lot, but she really needs to loosen up, especially in this film. She seemed extremely uptight, not to mention her character becomes downright unlikeable about 2/3 into the movie. As for Rupert (Robert), I liked him and I shared his pain in the movie. This character was very well defined and if anything at all, he makes this movie worth seeing. The plot twist towards the end of the movie threw me a bit and I don't understand where the twist came from, this should have been made more apparent to the audience earlier in the film. Overall, it's a mediocre film, not bad, but not real good either. If you're a fan of either of the main actors, then buy this film. If you're not a big fan, you're better off renting it.