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Waiting to Exhale | Year: 1995 Directed: - Forest Whitaker Actors/Actresses: - Angela Bassett - Whitney Houston three Stars for Angela bassett. Buy the book instead. Waiting to Exhale The movie is like a Cliff's note version of the book. A thin condensed version of the novel that skims the surface of the source material and gives the viewer a general overview of the actual story. This watered down movie dilutes the richness of Terry McMillan's novel and removes all the depth and substance from the characters. The key theme of women realizing that they make their own choices regarding the men in their lives is lost in the quest to commercialize black women's pain. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat. Depending on who you are, Terry McMillan's 1992 novel "Waiting to Exhale" is either a blessing or a dreaded curse. McMillan's third novel about four African American women struggling to attain stability, identity, and normalcy in Phoenix was praised in some circles for giving contemporary Black women a much-needed voice. But in other circles, mostly male, "Waiting to Exhale" was ripped to shreds as a spiteful and ungrounded damnation of Black men as philanderers, deadbeats, and no-good-dooers. It also made McMillan the biggest literary target of criticsm since Alice Walker unleashed her novel "the Color Purple." But whatever your take on the book is, the film adaptation won't likely change your stance, as it stays overall faithful to the book. Director Forest Whitaker does a respectable job bringing to life these characters: Savannah (Whitney Houston) is the buppie still in search for Mr. Right; Bernadine (Angela Bassett) just got dumped by her husband of 11 years for a white woman; Robin (Lela Rochon) is the ditzy bimbo still trying to shake off her no-good ex, and Gloria (Loretta Devine) is the full-figured owner of a successful hair salon. The best performances, hands down, are Bassett and Devine, who make the best impressions, and they help keep the film moving at a good pace. The script, co-written by McMillan, is crisp with enough funny one-liners and a story compelling enough to keep the viewer interested. But there are flaws. Whitney Houston struggles in her role as Savannah; her performance is wooden and forced, and when paired against a seasoned pro like Bassett, she flat out crumbles. A more relaxed approach to the material would have helped. Also, memo to Black filmmakers: drop the swishy gay hairdresser stereotype! It's tired, done a million times before, and, frankly, is grossly out of touch with reality. That aside, it's not often that a movie successfully adapts a novel as well as this one, and "Waiting to Exhale," warts and all, merits a B in my school of cinema. Blah Blah Blah @ The Critiquing Of This Movie This is a great movie, will definately keep you laughing at the Diva's in this movie. So what the movie is not as good and thorough as the book(what movie is?) I mean if you want ever detailed in a book put on screen then we will still be sitting in the movie theatre trying to see the end. Buy Waiting To Exhale at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Waiting To Exhale Search with the Priority Search Engine on Waiting To Exhale This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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