The Next Best Thing
| The Next Best Thing | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John Schlesinger |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Thomas Ropelewski |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Gabriel Yared |
| Cinematography | Elliot Davis |
| Edited by | Peter Honess |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
Paramount Pictures (USA) Touchstone Pictures (international) |
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Release date
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Running time
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108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $24,362,772 |
| The Next Best Thing (Music from the Motion Picture) | ||
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| 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 (Music from the Motion Picture) | ||
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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 failure.
Two best friends – one a straight woman, Abbie, the other a gay man, Robert – decide to have a child together. Five years later, Abbie falls in love with a heterosexual man and wants to move away with him and Robert's little boy Sam, and a nasty custody battle ensues.
The film began as an original screenplay, The Red Curtain, by Thomas 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 as star; he dropped out then Helen Hunt was named as female lead. She was eventually replaced by Madonna and then Rupert Everett signed on as star. Filming took place between 23 April and 30 June 1999. It was later claimed the script was extensively rewritten by Ryan Murphy and Rupert Everett.
Although it was made to be a sympathetic story about gay people worked on in part by two openly gay men behind the scenes (director John Schlesinger and costar Rupert Everett), the film was brutally slammed by critics. Roger Ebert gave the film 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."
The film holds a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus states: "Story elements clash and acting falls short." On Metacritic, which uses an average of critics' reviews, the film has a 25/100 rating, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". In Leonard Maltin's annual movie rating book, the film is given a BOMB rating.
The film opened at #2 at the North American box office making USD$5,870,387, behind The Whole Nine Yards. The film grossed $14,990,582 domestically and $24,362,772 worldwide on a $25 million budget.
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Wikipedia