Waiting to Exhale (1995)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Forest Whitaker

Writers (WGA):

Terry McMillan (novel)
Terry McMillan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 December 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Friends are the people who let you be yourself... and never let you forget it.

Plot:

Based on Terry McMillan's novel, this film follows four very different African-American women and their relationships with the male gender.

Plot Keywords:

African American | Single Mother | Human Relationship | Interracial Relationship | Divorce

Awards:

8 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Whitney Houston	...	Savannah 'Vannah' Jackson
Angela Bassett	...	Bernadine 'Bernie' Harris
Loretta Devine	...	Gloria 'Glo' Matthews
Lela Rochon	...	Robin Stokes
Gregory Hines	...	Marvin King
Dennis Haysbert	...	Kenneth Dawkins
Mykelti Williamson	...	Troy
Michael Beach	...	John Harris, Sr.
Leon	...	Russell
Wendell Pierce	...	Michael Davenport
Donald Faison	...	Tarik Matthews
Jeffrey D. Sams	...	Lionel
Jazz Raycole	...	Onika Harris
Brandon Hammond	...	John Harris, Jr.
Kenya Moore	...	Denise

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some strong sexuality.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:L | South Korea:18 | Germany:12 (f) | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chandler, Arizona, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Forest Whitaker stated in an interview with Ebony Magazine that Robin Givens and Halle Berry were among the women who auditioned for the role of Robin. After casting Angela Bassett and Whitney Houston, he decided to go with relative unknowns for the other two roles, and the role of Robin was subsequently given to Lela Rochon.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Robin is in bed with Michael, she takes off her underwear and then when he goes to put the condom on, but a minute later her underwear is still on.

Quotes:

Gloria: Your father's coming home on Tuesday.
Tarik: And? First of all, he ain't my father, he's my daddy; there's a big damn difference.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Murphy Brown: Waiting to Inhale (#10.6)" (1997)

WAITING TO EXHALE : Waiting To Go Somewhere, But Sadly It Never Does...

WAITING TO EXHALE

Waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting... you get the point. "Waiting To Exhale", Forrest Whitaker's take on Terry McMillan's popular book, had a rather popular following upon it's release in 1995. It was packaged brilliantly, crossing over into the popular music scene with a blockbuster soundtrack featuring it's star Whitney Houston. However, as Leonard Maltin said it so beautifully, this film ultimately reminds one too much of the easy listening jazz that plays under nearly every scene.

"Waiting To Exhale" had the potential to be an interesting movie. It features a nice ensemble that manages to have good chemistry while also allowing certain performers to step into the limelight and really dominate certain scenes. Unfortunately, in the end, the movie is a repetitive drone.

It tells the story of four African-American females (played by Angela Bassett, Whitney Houston, Loretta Divine, and Lela Rochon) as they struggle to find the men in life that can satisfy there needs. The only problem, in the world of this movie, men are nothing but complete ass-holes who wouldn't know the word "feelings" if they looked it up in the dictionary. How can this film possibly go anywhere when it's screenwriters has made men so incredibly unredeemable that nothing can change.

For the first 45 minutes, the film is slightly enjoyable. However, as it continues on into it's 2 hour and plus running time... it begins to feel like deja-vu. The women keep putting themselves in identical situations to those they've experienced in the past... and as much as they talk about it in slow/sultry voice-overs, they don't seem to learn squat.

It's like the soundtrack music. Slightly soothing, enjoyable, and easy to digest... but too slow and pointless to listen to for very long. "Waiting To Exhale" in the end is nothing more then a boringly pointless film that wastes the potential it had with the cast. Were the film given more of a focal point, and a more distinct narrative line, perhaps it could have been a good film. But everyone on board apparently missed the memo that... films are better when they have a plot and a purpose.

... D ...