Waiting to Exhale (1995)

Directed by Forest Whitaker. Starring Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, Whitney Houston, Lela Rochon, Gregory Hines, Michael Beach, Dennis Haysbert, Wesley Snipes, Starletta DuPois, Mykelti Williamson, Donald Faison, Wendell Pierce, Leon, Jeffrey D. Sams. [R]

Four black women friends are each dealing with their own issues, though there’s a common thread: men are jerks. Bassett’s husband is leaving her for a white woman, Houston’s married lover won’t leave his wife, Devine is a single mom eyeing her next door neighbor (Hines), etc. Terry McMillan helped adapt her own book (she serves as a co-producer, too), but it’s a shallow, redundant story, a queasy sort of comfort food for those who seek out soul-lifting fantasy with a good cry and a better bottle of wine. Bassett and Devine come off best, but Houston’s acting leaves plenty to be desired, and Rochon’s character is more grating than inspiring. In his directorial debut, Whitaker constructs the film like a TV-movie of the week (some of the scene transitions are downright amateurish), and the soundtrack—composed by Kenneth “Babyface” Williams with slow R&B jam contributions from Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, etc.—is slathered on so thick and relentless that it suffocates any potential for real feeling or insight (talk about having trouble breathing…). Snipes went uncredited; Giancarlo Esposito has a small part.

38/100