Reviews

Despite Madonna's lack of screen persona for most of the movie (she does have moments where she pulls it off), the film succeeds in probing questions about unconventional relationships and how they are viewed by society and the legal system. Even though I am a Madonna fan, I was distracted by her attempts to create her practically trademark pseudo-British accent without any consistency. She employs this accent many times, on and off screen, and I for one would like to see her give it a rest. Rupert succeeds convincingly, although Hollywood's portrayal of homosexuals as Judy Garland-loving, gorgeous Adonis-like creatures with impeccable taste and sharp wit, is getting old. Even though Rupert's scene as a flamboyant queen with large glasses and beret got a few laughs -- it only fed on existing gay stereotypes and took away from the fresh story that I thought I was in for. The later courtroom scenes were a little dramatic, and it is slightly unbelievable that in the six years that Abbey and Robert spent raising the child, they didn't think ahead and address the issue of custody with some binding legal documents, both for their own sake as well as the sake of the child. It was clear that both of them didn't want to keep living the single life. Even with its problems, The Next Best Thing is a decent film worth seeing.

Actually the movie isn't that bad. The special effects are, for the most part, unconvincing. The movie seems to steal ideas from other movies in this genre, namely Deep Impact. The drunken pilot is practically a clone of Randy Quaid's character in Independence Day. One of the final scenes where the scientist gets trapped outside to die is shot strangely. As the unlucky bystanders watch the select few head down the elevator (which looks more like an outhouse), their facial expressions reminded me of Night of the Living Dead. Instead of hurrying to the elevator shaft to save themselves, they look catatonic. Only as the elevator doors begin to close do they scramble for their own lives. I made a mistake and paid to rent this as a new release.