AllMovie

Like many issue films, The Next Best Thing poses more questions than it answers. For instance: Can homosexuals make good parents? What rights should fathers have when it comes to joint custody of their children? Why does Hollywood think gay men inevitably fall into bed with their straight female friends? How do studio executives justify their tendency to gamble millions of dollars on Madonna's dubious box-office appeal? And how did British landscaper Robert (Rupert Everett) get his green card, much less enough money to lead such a fabulous lifestyle? These queries may seem facetious, but they highlight many of the problems that afflict this muddled courtroom drama. For however valid and of-the-moment its sociological questions, The Next Best Thing fails to weave its heavy-handed premise into a believable screenplay populated by three-dimensional characters. It's no surprise that Madonna comes off wooden and mannered, but Everett's smug, self-indulgent posing is a disappointment after his winning turns in My Best Friend's Wedding and An Ideal Husband. Benjamin Bratt's function is to look good and drive the plot, and on those modest terms the former TV star succeeds, but Lynn Redgrave, Illeana Douglas, and Neil Patrick Harris are all wasted in supporting roles. Director John Schlesinger has turned out his share of failures over the course of a long and varied career, but this shallow star vehicle certainly must be his worst stinker. Everything from the premise -- lifted almost completely from 1998's The Object of My Affection -- to the soundtrack seems focus-grouped; too bad the script and casting didn't receive as much scrutiny.