Description: Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett star in this funny and touching film about four women who find strength through their rare and special relationship. Savannah, Bernadine, Robin and Gloria are all searching for the Real Thing: true love. Bernadine thought she had it, until her husband left her for another woman. Savannah and Robin are successful in business but their love lives are bankrupt. And divorcee Gloria is getting back in the game by flirting with her new, very eligible neighbor. Based on Terry McMillan's best-selling novel, and featuring the #1 smash hit "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)," "Waiting to Exhale" is the film you and your friends have been waiting for! Original score by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
Amazon.com essential video: Based on a novel by Terry McMillan, this weepy melodrama about four African American women and the men who wronged them became an instant cultural phenomenon when it was released back in 1995. It's easy to see why Exhale struck a nerve: the movie boasts an attractive cast of African American actresses and personalities, including Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, and Lela Rochon. Unfortunately, though, Exhale sags under the weight of its soapy, crisis of the week plotting and relentlessly cheery "you go, girl!" optimism. And African American men, cast here as insensitive lovers and pigheaded materialists, get the very short end of the feminist stick. Perhaps moviegoers were simply responding to the brilliant soundtrack by R&B superstar Babyface, who provided the movie's only real groove. --Ethan Brown
Love this movie, i like the issues it shows women deal with. Husbands leaving their wifes, women who love the men they can't have and other issues. A great sit and watch with your girlfriends movie.
"I closed my eyes and I exhaled." "Waiting to Exhale" is a film that takes you on a powerful and heartfelt excursion with four women: Bernie, Savannah, Robin and Gloria. Each woman experiences her share of problems with the opposite sex, but through it all, they depend heavily on one another to help them through the most bleak of times. What has proven to be the most captivating story is that of Bernie (Angela Bassett did an excellent job, as usual.) She and her husband, John, have been married for eleven years and have two children. In the beginning of the motion picture, though, he abruptly informs her that he is leaving her for another woman. That information totally infuriates her and she really does some horrible things to his personal belongings. The viewer can't help but feel sorry for her because the pain she was experiencing was written all over her face throughout the film. Savannah (played by Whitney Houston) keeps ending up with men who use her for sex. The man she likes the most is married. Robin (the beautiful Lela Rochon) is extremely gullible when it comes to men. The men she dates in this film love her and leave her, that it, until she builds up some courage to tell them how she feels. Gloria lives with her teenaged son Tarik. She is still attracted to his father, and when he comes to visit, she tries to be intimate with him, until he tells her that he is gay. However, she finds love with her new next door neighbor.
I love this film! I cannot get enough of it. Though it seems to be easier for women to watch, I feel that everyone can get some laughter and entertainment from it. 5 stars. Wait, where is the option for 10 stars?
Sex and the City with a Twist I must admit that I liked this film a lot more than I thought I would. Though at times padded and overwrought, "Exhale" ends up being more than a sum of its parts thanks mostly to Loretta Devine, who is superb as a full-figured divorcee with a rebellious son and a gay ex husband. Though her performance is the most sublime of the four actresses, Ms. Devine is the most affecting, proving that less is more. Compared to the sparkling Ms. Devine, the other Stars often struggle. Ms. Bassett, who is usually excellent, becomes a cliche as her husband leaves her for (gasp) a white woman and she is resigned to burning his wardrobe, destroying his car, and calling her rival the "B" word at her Ex's office. I can hear Oprah screaming "You Go Girl!" but more subtelty would be refreshing . On the other hand, Ms. Rachon is forgettable as she meanders through one worthless relationship to another. Then there is Whitney Houston, who is simply out of her league. Lacking Ms. Devine's superior acting chops or Ms. Bassett's charisma, poor Whitney poses beautifully but moves her neck like a bobblehead and any second you expect her to cry out "Crack is Whack!" She behaves like a moron for most of the film (even using bad grammar as she admits to "Axing" God for help !) but finally has a moment of clarity and gives her creepy married lover his walking papers. I do give Director Forrest Whitaker points for keeping the story moving at a nice clip but the message here that all men are Creeps (except for the ones whose wives have died) is tiring.
Ultimate chic flick This is a must see for all women over the age of 18. It is the ultimate chick flick.
Best break-up movie ever made :-) If you've ever suffered a break-up, or are just fed-up with men in general, this is the movie for you. Girls need to stick together, especially during those times when we need each-others support the most. Break-ups can be heart-wrenching when our friends aren't there to support us. This movie will lift your spirits and remind you that all women go through the same thing (thus, you are not alone), we need to stick together ("divide and conquer" is not an option), and that life will go one (sometimes better then before). Highly recommended.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
