The Next Best Thing

The Next Best Thing (2000)

Best friends make the best mistakes

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 her and Robert's little boy Sam, and a nasty custody battle ensues.

Date of release
2000-03-03
TMDB
5.2 / 10 (207)
Runtime
1h 48m
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director
John Schlesinger

Casting

Interesting facts

The Next Best Thing is a 2000 American comedy drama film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Madonna, Rupert Everett and Benjamin Bratt. It follows a woman who has a one-night stand with her gay best friend, which results in her giving birth to a son that the two attempt to co-parent over the ensuing years amidst a custody battle. It features supporting performances from Michael Vartan, Josef Sommer, Lynn Redgrave, Neil Patrick Harris, and Illeana Douglas. It was Schlesinger's final feature film before his death in 2003.

Production

The film began as an original screenplay titled The Red Curtain by Tom 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 to star as Robert, however, he dropped out. Helen Hunt was named as the female lead to play Abbie, though she was replaced by Madonna. Rupert Everett signed on to star shortly after Madonna.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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