Waiting to Exhale

Starring: Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon, Gregory Hines, Dennis Haysbert, Mykelti Williamson, Michael Beach, Leon, Wendell Pierce, Donald Faison, Giancarlo Esposito (uncredited), Kelly Preston (uncredited), Wesley Snipes (uncredited)
Directed by: Forest Whitaker
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
1995

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Four women attempt to navigate life, friendships, and their romantic relationship ups-and-downs.

Review:

Tim: I thought Forest Whitaker's Waiting to Exhale managed to succeed (to some extent) where other similar movies have failed. In the 1990s, Hollywood made small strides towards more diversity in their films- a movie like this, featuring a mostly black cast, really focused on telling a drama about individuals' lives- audiences didn't get a ton of these kinds of films. The ones that did emerge felt like they had less studio backing, weren't exactly good movies. This is a good film and it did well at the box office- #26 for the year. It's a success story and further evidence that we need more movies like this.

One of the highlights of the film is undoubtedly the cast. They assembled an incredible cast for this film. Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon make up the protagonists. Houston wasn't a great actress, but she was effective enough and she works well in this role. Bassett is the most talented from these four and that shows up on screen. Her character had some baggage and attitude about that, but it's one of the deeper performances in the film. I've long enjoyed Loretta Devine's work- she makes you feel a connection to her characters because of the warmth she brings. I wasn't familiar with Rochon, but I thought she gave a fiery, energetic performance that really impressed me. The heart of the movie involves these four women. Most of their stories happen individually- it's them and the men around them. However, the highlights of the film often come when we get to see these four women together. They have legitimate chemistry on screen and I really enjoyed their interactions. I wish we got more time with them, separate from the men around them.

Many of the men characters are less-than-stellar people. But, strong actors play them. Dennis Haysbert adds a nice performance. He's not the most likeable character, but he does good work on screen. I always enjoy Mykelti Williamson and while he wasn't the most memorable, he's always fun to watch. I really enjoyed Wendell Pierce here- he might not give a "great" performance, but it's humorous and it's memorable. I loved seeing Donald Faison in his small supporting role. Gregory Hines had some truly nice, smaller moments throughout the film. I'm always going to see where I get to see Giancarlo Esposito, here in an uncredited role. Still, he makes the movie better. And, I loved the unexpected and uncredited appearance of Wesley Snipes. Snipes gives a surprisingly strong performance and was one of the more memorable aspects of the film. I loved that he popped up here unexpectedly and made the movie better. These last two paragraphs don't even cover everyone- Whitaker absolutely assembles a terrific cast and gives them opportunity to shine.

As far as the narrative itself, it's fine. The film is based on a novel, so there's a fairly decent narrative structure to build upon. I don't know if I truly loved any of these characters or felt a deep emotional investment in them. It's wonderful having a huge cast, but even in a 2 hour, 4 minute film (which is a bit long for this kind of movie), it doesn't feel like there's quite enough time to go deeply enough with all these characters. I do wish the narrative was a bit more streamlined, but likely was hampered by the novel (which has much more time to develop all the different narrative threads). Still, the script is at least solid in transitioning the story to the screen.

There is a lot of drama in this movie and a lot of romantic. It really feels more like those two are the chief genres. Comedy is a distant third. There's some humorous moments, but this isn't an especially funny film. I don't think it was purposely trying to be- Whitaker as the director feels much more interested in the dramatic and the romantic aspects of this story.

So, I enjoyed Waiting to Exhale. It definitely has flaws and never packs the emotional punch that it needed to, but the cast is so good and they all get opportunities to showcase their talent through this drama that it makes you thankful to watch the movie. It's not a dominating success, but it's a good film and allows viewers to watch the lives of a minority group that's underserved in Hollywood. When you take the movie both on its own merits and the broader context, you have to celebrate this achievement.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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