'Exhale's Sighs, Tears Ultimately Uplifting

Date: January 05, 1996
By Leah Waldron

From Sun-Sentinel
Submitted by: Larry A.


Waiting to Exhale is a movie about relationships from the viewpoint of four single women. While these relationships are not filled with glamour, romance, or even commitment and trust, the reality of each woman's story is touching and packed with emotion.

Each tale is told in soap-opera style. Whitney Houston returns to the screen with the role of Savannah, a career-oriented woman in love with a married man who can't seem to love her back enough to leave his wife. Angela Bassett is the beautiful Bernadine, an abandoned wife with two children and a plot to get even with her ex-husband. Loretta Devine plays the struggling single mom Gloria, whose husband left her for a man, leaving her lonely and desperate. Lela Rochon plays the role of Robin, a dependent, naive woman who is looking for Mr. Right, but manages to find only crack addicts and womanizers.

The talented cast displays exceptional acting, which gives the film a touch of honesty, a trait that is not found in most modern movies. An incredible scene occurs as the trembling Bernadine enters her ex-husband's closet and, in a trance, destroys his wardrobe on her lawn. Bassett's flawless acting deserves the highest acclaim, and her power to defeat her husband in court will havewomen across America cheering.

But females are not the only ones who will relate to this movie. Every male character in the movie is not a lying jerk, just the majority. Wesley Snipes defines the perfect catch with his striking honesty and devotion to his wife. He comes into Bernadine's life when she is extremely vulnerable, and allows a friendship to be created, instead of an affair. Gregory Hines plays Gloria's new available neighbor, adding another positive male role as a romantic hero and father figure for her son (Donald Adeosun Faison).

While the story line of Exhale can be dragged out in parts, it still manages to tie in incredible scenes that allow the viewer to feel Bernadine's anger over her husband's adultery or Robin's confusion over her deceiving boyfriends. Powerful dialogue is created when Savannah realizes her new-found independence and tells her mom that she does not need a man to make her happy. A similar revelation occurs when Robin slams the door on her two-timing needy boyfriend in order to take care of herself for once. The party scene brings the four women together as they share their fears and hopes and comfort each other ... and enjoy a little needed cake and wine.

There is a subtle moral to the story in Waiting to Exhale that most men might find a little discomfiting. It is that women need to be independent and strong, and not settle for whatever man happens to enter their life. While the four leading women did not successfully have their breath taken away, they grew strong enough to wait for the right man, and exhale.