Second Best
Second Best Image
Metascore
44 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Summary: A failed publishing executive (Pantoliano) and his best friend from childhood, a successful movie producer (Gaines), compete for the attentions of the same woman (Tilly).

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 11
  3. Negative: 2 out of 11
  1. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    70
    Sloppy but smart-enough-to-make-you-squirm comedy.
  2. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Brad Slager
    60
    Two things make this worthwhile: The realistic relationship between Elliot and Richard, and Pantoliano playing against type and actually humanizing a possibly loathsome character.
  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    60
    Pantoliano brings his usual degree of wily, understated humor to his role and is ably supported by the terrific ensemble, but he's unable to elevate a film that is ultimately as directionless as its protagonist.
  4. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    25
    If it weren't for "Sideways," Second Best probably wouldn't have been released at all, but the earlier film made you root for a hapless schmo. This one doesn't, mainly because its protagonist is so obnoxious.

See all 11 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. roxw.
    10
    This is a very funny and honest film, perhaps too honest for most people. it doesn't champion mediocrity, it rages against it and shows us how lazy we've become by settling for second best in almost every aspect of our lives. second best is an important cultural statement. it holds the mirror very closely to our faces. more real, more funny, and much better written than 'sideways'.… Collapse
  2. BethM.
    7
    I thought this movie was refreshing - a real life scenerio. This is the stuff most people live with every day - not "Hollywood." Compare the cheesy, over done, non intellectually challenging movies that Hollywood pumps out with French films. French movies have heart and soul and don't use perfect-A list role characters. They use imperfect actors who don't need a que card to tell them it's time to start showing emotion. Though this movie has nothing to do with the French movie industry - my point is it's "real" and the only people who find the whole "loser" thing depressing are probably standing in a heap of denial. Would I go out and buy myself a copy to watch again? No, probably not. Did this movie inspire me. No - it didn't. But, I enjoyed it. It took me from my daily life and helped me escape for 86 minutes. And, it wasn't "Hollywood" - it was fresh, which is what I was most fond of.… Expand
  3. JonA
    0
    Annoying as hell, so poorly done that it gave me a headache.

Current Movie Releases

Full List »
  1. Before Midnight
    Metascore: 95
  2. Star Trek Into Darkness
    Metascore: 72
  3. This Is the End
    Metascore: 68
  4. Iron Man 3
    Metascore: 62
  5. Fast & Furious 6
    Metascore: 61
  6. Man of Steel
    Metascore: 55
  7. The Great Gatsby
    Metascore: 55
  8. Oblivion
    Metascore: 54
  9. Epic
    Metascore: 52
  10. Peeples
    Metascore: 52
  11. Now You See Me
    Metascore: 50
  12. Pain & Gain
    Metascore: 44
  13. The Internship
    Metascore: 43
  14. The Purge
    Metascore: 41
  15. After Earth
    Metascore: 33
  16. The Hangover Part III
    Metascore: 30
  17. The Big Wedding
    Metascore: 28
  18. Scary Movie 5
    Metascore: 11
All Current Movies »