Abbie (Madonna) is a yoga teacher, she's single, beautiful and wants a baby/man (and when you think about it, it's actually the same thing ...).?Robert (Rupert Everett) is a landscape architect, gay, sorta single and wants a man too ... Neither of them try very hard though to find that perfect guy, so they settle for the next best thing ...

shortsynopsis

Not your usual faghag vs. screaming queen scenario (that's so blazE) - The Next Best Thing is about a mother, harboring a little bit of a hidden agenda, I believe, and a father gone sour after the new boyfriend (his 'n hers) hits the scene. The child is your ordinary, protected, 5 year old boy, and the movie (for all you in-the-closet-child-haters) is not Really about the boy - it's about Abbie and Robert, and about how life and the new loves they find, force their best-friendship apart. Abbie's instincts as a mother and Robert's ingrown tantrums and spur-of-the-moment-deductions (he is, after all, Gay) clash because of the love for Their child.

I'm only gonna gonna comment on Abbie's role - the other actors didn't really matter to me. To begin with, the movie takes off a little slow. The first quarter of the movie, in fact, doesn't make the movie, if you look at wide camera angles - they're also a little up close, and the actors aren't quite "in the rhythm" of things at this stage of the movie yet. I, as an enormae (?!) Madonna fan, have to admit that The Woman should stick to what she does best. But you have to love her in this role - she was 'good' to it. Madonna's an enchanted and gifted entertainer and singer who acts better than most of us do! (Intro: Evita).

The filmography (as I've said before) is loose. The actors aren't to blame for that - but they do take hits, so eat this, John Schlesinger and Elliot Davis! Where was all the light??? Why all those up close and personal shots? Okay okay - there's bound to be some insane reason behind it - but it's not to the advantage of the plot, the movie as a whole and the actors.

The ending was lovely, (it made my roommate cry - he'll kill me for writing this I suppose ...). It was the sort of ending (happy with a kink) that would normally make me cry too - BUT the story seemed unfinished - and you left the cinema with the thought that you'd in fact like some finality over who get's the brat. With some imagination, you could pretend that Abbie does - if you think about it optimistically. She shares custody with Robert. Which is fabulous. But, ai toggie, something's still not there ... Loved it - Love Madonna. Forever!

(I'm not much of a columinst nor am I a professional critic, so don't criticize my attempt at making a much needed point.)