The new story line in a politically correct Hollywood seems to involve a woman with some neurosis and her best friend who is the perfect man. He is a good listener, has impeccable taste in clothes and is always there when needed. Why doesn't this woman ever go for him? He's gay.

It began with Julia Roberts in "My Best Friend's Wedding," and then continued with Jennifer Aniston in "The Object of My Affection" and now Madonna is taking a turn with the plot in "The Next Best Thing."

The title of this movie says it all. It is not the best thing to watch. It is possibly a stretch to call it the next best thing. Rupert Everett plays the "gay best friend" again, this time as Robert, an L.A. landscaper who is not interested in establishing a meaningful relationship with another man. Everett may seem to be reprising his role in "My Best Friend's Wedding," but the two characters are very different. Robert is not the quintessential gay man in this movie; he is much more realistic than the stereotypical character he played in "My Best Friend's Wedding." This man has problems too. Some of them have to do with his homosexuality; some of them do not. His life is real.

Robert's best friend is Abbie, played by Madonna, who has her own problems with commitment. After a night of heavy drinking and wallowing in self-pity, Robert and Abbie end up taking their relationship to a level they both never thought it would go. This one night was enough to send both Robert and Abbie's life upside down when they find out she is pregnant with Robert's child. They decide to raise the child together, unmarried, but living together. They never look down the road to prepare for what may happen if one of them meets someone and wants to get married and, of course, this is the very thing that happens.

When their child Sam, played wonderfully by newcomer Malcolm Stumpf, is 6 years old, Abbie meets Ben, a suave New York businessman, played by Benjamin Bratt, and they want to move to New York.

This story had a lot of potential, dealing with a lot of difficult and modern issues, but it takes on too much in too short of a time frame. There is so much going on none of the story lines or even the characters are developed enough to have too much meaning. The custody battle is "solved" in two courtroom scenes, which could probably have taken up the whole movie.

Most of the movie is spent with Robert and the audience gets a good look into his life. His father has issues with his homosexuality, but his mother (a brilliant performance by the charming Lynn Redgrave) loves him just the same. We do not get to see much of his past beyond that though, except for snippets of clues dropped sparsely throughout the film that are never fully explained. Everett does a wonderful job with his character in playing the passionate father.

Madonna gives a lackluster performance in this film. We know very little about her, other than that she is a yoga instructor whose biological clock is ticking. Her character is completely underdeveloped and she does not make up for this with her acting. The audience does not relate to her because they do not really ever know her.

Other than Madonna, most of the acting was very impressive, which proves that it is the story that is lacking. Neil Patrick Harris delivers a superb, although short, performance as one of Abbie and Robert's friends, who is dealing with a loss of his own. Benjamin Bratt successfully takes on the tough role of the other man. This character is someone who could be really easy to hate, especially if people really like Robert. Bratt plays the role with such honesty and compassion that it is impossible to hate him because he is in a really tough position.

Despite the poor story line, this movie was enjoyable to watch. It is "PG-13," so it is a movie to see with the family over Spring Break. If there is not an "R"-rated movie that the family can agree on or everyone has seen everything else; this movie is the "next best thing."

2 out of 5 shamrocks

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