A noble cause but a so-so movie

Date: December 22, 1995
By Steve Persall

From St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Submitted by: Larry A.


Audiences are going to fall in love with the screen adaptation of Terry McMillan's bestselling novel Waiting to Exhale. Not all audiences, mind you.

Primarily moviegoers who will savor every repetitive turn in this soap opera world, simply because they haven't had previous chances to fully project themselves into screen characters. Middle-class, thirtyish African-American women may be the largest demographic that Hollywood has mostly ignored, which makes any attempt to portray them - even one as elemental and clumsy as this one - a reason to celebrate.

Take a deep breath and exhale. Relax. Just because I'm white and male, don't automatically assume that I don't "get it." At a sneak preview of Waiting to Exhale, it was great to watch black women whooping it up and muttering at the screen. There is a bona fide electricity in watching any group of people discover themselves in a movie, whether it's a gay film festival, a Holocaust drama or women who refuse to be boy-toys anymore. I hope every black woman who sees Waiting to Exhale feels that same liberating charge. It's genuine, and it's overdue.

Film criticism, however, can't be as personally generous. Good and bad filmmaking aren't divided by race, religion or gender. A noble cause can still result in a so-so movie (or worse). That's the case with Waiting to Exhale, which features an array of thoughtful, appealing performances and a rare peek at an underseen sliver of American culture. But one gets the feeling that this screenplay wouldn't have been made into a film without some underappreciated group - AIDS patients, the handicapped, black women, etc. - as its focus, so the film industry can pat itself on the back for making "progress."

Waiting to Exhale zeroes in on four Africa-American women living single and unfulfilled, waiting for the men who'll knock the wind right out of them. If you can exhale with a man, McMillan decrees in the book, you can relax. These women have been holding their breath far too long.

Savannah (Whitney Houston) is getting over a two-timing lover with the attention of married-man Kenneth (Dennis Haysbert). Bernadine (Angela Bassett) sees her marriage shattered when her husband announces he's in love with his white office accountant. Robin (Lela Rochon) is all business at work and all pleasure when she's off duty, willing to settle for an affair with an oafish co-worker (Wendell Pierce). Gloria (Loretta Devine) has lost a man for every pound she's gained over the past few years, and raising a teenage son compounds the pressure.

McMillan's script (co-authored with Ronald Bass) deals with women caught in their respective ruts, and wallows there with them. Each of the four women follows the same pattern: find a man, find out he isn't what he seemed to be and find a way to dump him. If there were emotional depth to match the sass and vinegar of their girl-talk, Waiting to Exhale might uncover some truths of women who love too well. I have a feeling many moviegoers will disagree, but that's only because their own personal burdens enable them to flesh out the simplistic drama on-screen.

Houston makes a better impression here than in her other starring role in The Bodyguard. That may be because Savannah doesn't have much to do except alternate between looking hot and hurt. Bassett makes the most of the showiest dramatic role as Bernadine; her face nearly crumbles from all the tragedy going on behind it, and then Bassett can unleash a smile, a slap or a put-down that deserves to be cheered. Rochon is a capable if unchallenged talent, and Devine's comical longing and hip-swaying sexiness make her the breakout surprise of the ensemble.

The men in Waiting to Exhale - including Gregory Hines and Wesley Snipes - are relegated to window-dressing roles, looking sharp and whispering sweet nothings that have just as much value. Every piggish behavior imaginable is rationed among them - adultery, drug abuse, lying, degrading acts, selfish sex. You name it, and these guys are guilty of it. Excellent catharsis, perhaps, but not good drama.

But why shouldn't black women take out their liberties and fantasies on film, the same way males have for decades? Female-themed flicks like Steel Magnolias or The Turning Point never hurt anybody, although some men and movie critics might disagree. Waiting to Exhale allows the sisters to do it for themselves, for once. The rest of us should remember that sometimes one woman's exhale is another man's irritated sigh.

MOVIE REVIEW: B-