Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
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 and commercial failure.
Plot
The film is a comedy-drama about best friends – one a straight woman, Abbie, the other a gay man, Robert – who decide to have a child together. Five years later, Abbie falls in love with a straight man and wants to move away with him and Robert's little boy Sam, and a nasty custody battle ensues.
Cast
Rupert Everett as Robert WhittakerMadonna as Abbie ReynoldsBenjamin Bratt as Ben CooperMichael Vartan as Kevin LasaterJosef Sommer as Richard WhittakerLynn Redgrave as Helen WhittakerMalcolm Stumpf as SamNeil Patrick Harris as DavidIlleana Douglas as Elizabeth RyderMark Valley as CardiologistSuzanne Krull as AnnabelStacy Edwards as FinnWilliam Mesnik as AshleyReception
The film was a critical and commercial flop. Madonna won a Razzie Award for Worst Actress, and the film was nominated for other Razzies including Worst Director, Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay. Critic Roger Ebert gave the movie 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."
It was nominated as Outstanding Film at the 2001 GLAAD Media Awards; losing out to Billy Elliot. The film opened at #2 at the North American box office making $5,870,387 USD, behind The Whole Nine Yards.
Soundtrack
The Next Best Thing' is a soundtrack album released by Maverick Records on February 21, 2000. It was released to accompany and promote the 2000 film, The Next Best Thing. It reached number 34 on the US Billboard 200 album chart and went platinum.
Madonna was executive producer on the soundtrack and hand-picked all the tracks that appear. The soundtrack went to Number 34 on the Billboard 200 and spawned one new single from Madonna. The album boasted two new songs from Madonna, "Time Stood Still" (an original track written and produced with William Orbit) and a cover of Don McLean's "American Pie." The latter track was a No. 1 around the world, climbing to the top of the charts in the UK, Australia, Germany and Japan. The album also included tracks by Moby, Beth Orton, Christina Aguilera and Groove Armada.