MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for The Next Best Thing

The Next Best Thing

2000 · 108 min

A glossy, well-meaning dramedy that coasts on charm but stumbles into melodrama, leaving you more frustrated than moved.

Directed by
John Schlesinger
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Tagline
Best friends make the best mistakes
Overview
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.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Add to a list: The Next Best Thing

You have no lists yet. Name one, and this title goes into it.

All your lists

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
John Schlesinger
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 1 of 3
  • tensestrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
easy-watch, 2 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • family
  • parenthood
  • friendship
  • love
  • identity
Places
  • big city
  • home
Era
contemporary
Audience
teen
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour5
Realism8
Romance5
Tension4
Darkness4
Complexity4
Emotional weight6

More like this

Titles like The Next Best Thing

Movie

The Kids Are All Right

2010

A warm, funny, and painfully honest look at a messy family that feels lived-in and real.

Warm, earnest · about family and parenthood

Via
  • warm
  • earnest
  • family
  • parenthood
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
106 min
Details
The Kids Are All RightHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Knocked Up

2007

A raunchy but warm comedy about mismatched people fumbling toward maturity, with plenty of laughs and a surprisingly tender core.

Warm, earnest · about family and parenthood

Via
  • warm
  • earnest
  • family
  • parenthood
Pacing
measured
Attention
easy-watch
Runtime
129 min
Details
Knocked UpHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Juno

2007

A quirky, warm-hearted comedy-drama that balances sharp wit with genuine emotional moments, making you laugh and feel for the characters.

Warm, earnest · about family and parenthood

Via
  • warm
  • earnest
  • family
  • parenthood
Pacing
brisk
Attention
easy-watch
Runtime
96 min
Details
JunoHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Friends with Kids

2012

A warm, witty look at friendship and love that feels like a honest conversation with close friends.

Warm, earnest · about family and parenthood

Via
  • warm
  • earnest
  • family
  • parenthood
Pacing
measured
Attention
easy-watch
Runtime
100 min
Details
Friends with KidsHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

About a Boy

2002

A warm, funny, gently bittersweet watch about lonely people learning to let each other in.

Warm · about family and parenthood

Via
  • warm
  • family
  • parenthood
Pacing
measured
Attention
easy-watch
Runtime
101 min
Details
About a BoyHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Boyhood

2014

A quietly absorbing, deeply human experience that feels like watching memories unfold in real time, warm and bittersweet.

Warm, earnest · about family and parenthood

Via
  • warm
  • earnest
  • family
  • parenthood
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
165 min
Details
BoyhoodHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Together Together

2021

A gentle, talky two-hander that finds quiet warmth and awkward humor in an unusual friendship, leaving you reflective about connection and boundaries.

Warm, earnest · about parenthood and friendship

Via
  • warm
  • earnest
  • parenthood
  • friendship
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
90 min
Details
Together TogetherHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Two Is a Family

2016

A warm, bittersweet comedy-drama that balances light humour with heartfelt moments and a poignant, emotional ending.

Warm, earnest · about family and parenthood

Via
  • warm
  • earnest
  • family
  • parenthood
Pacing
measured
Attention
easy-watch
Runtime
118 min
Details
Two Is a FamilyHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

2011

A warm, funny tangle of overlapping love lives that keeps you smiling even as hearts get bruised.

Warm · about family and love

Via
  • warm
  • family
  • love
Pacing
measured
Attention
easy-watch
Runtime
118 min
Details
Crazy, Stupid, Love.Hidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Wedding Banquet

1993

A warm, witty, and tender comedy of errors that balances cultural expectations with personal truth, leaving a bittersweet aftertaste.

Warm, earnest · about family and parenthood

Via
  • warm
  • earnest
  • family
  • parenthood
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
108 min
Details
The Wedding BanquetHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Mrs. Doubtfire

1993

A warm, chaotic comedy where a father's outrageous disguise hides real heartache, balancing slapstick with genuine family feeling.

Warm, earnest · about family and parenthood

Via
  • warm
  • earnest
  • family
  • parenthood
Pacing
brisk
Attention
easy-watch
Runtime
125 min
Details
Mrs. DoubtfireHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

You Can Count on Me

2000

Quietly observed and deeply human, it unfolds like real life, mixing small humor with ache and forgiveness.

Warm, earnest · about family and parenthood

Via
  • warm
  • earnest
  • family
  • parenthood
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
111 min
Details
You Can Count on MeHidden from your suggestions.

Cast

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy, drama, romance
Directed by
John Schlesinger
Written by
Tom Ropelewski
Starring
Madonna, Rupert Everett, Benjamin Bratt, Malcolm Stumpf, Josef Sommer, Suzanne Krull, Linda Larkin, Illeana Douglas
Music
Gabriel Yared
Cinematography
Elliot Davis
Runtime
108 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English, French

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata