Waiting to Exhale
| Waiting to Exhale | |
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| Directed by | Forest Whitaker |
| Produced by | Ronald Bass Terry McMillan Deborah Schindler Ezra Swerdlow |
| Written by | Terry McMillan (book and teleplay) Ronald Bass (teleplay) |
| Starring | Whitney Houston Angela Bassett Loretta Devine Lela Rochon |
| Music by | Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds |
| Editing by | Richard Chew |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | December 22, 1995 |
| Running time | 127 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000,000 |
| Box office | Domestic: $67,052,156[1] Worldwide $81,452,156 |
Waiting to Exhale is a 1995 romance film starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett, directed by Forest Whitaker. The movie was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by Terry McMillan. Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Beach, Gregory Hines, Donald Faison and Mykelti Williamson rounded out the rest of the cast. The original music score was composed by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. The story centers on four female friends living in the Phoenix, Arizona area and their relationships with men and one another. All of them are "holding their breath" until the day they can feel comfortable in a committed relationship with a man.
The movie is notable for having an all-African American cast. The Los Angeles Times called it a "social phenomenon".[2]
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[edit] Plot summary
Waiting to Exhale is a story about four African-American women — Savannah, Robin, Bernie and Gloria — who go through different stages of love and life.
[edit] Characters
- Savannah Jackson (Whitney Houston) is a successful television producer who holds on to the belief that one day her married lover (Dennis Haysbert) will leave his wife for her.
- Bernadine Harris (Angela Bassett) abandoned her own career and desires of having a catering business to raise a family. Her husband (Michael Beach) is now leaving her for a white woman. There is a back story of Savannah and Bernadine being best friends since they were both in college together.[3]
- Robin Stokes (Lela Rochon) is a high-powered executive and the long-time mistress of Russell (Leon Robinson). After dumping him she has problems finding a decent man of her own.[4]
- Gloria Matthews (Loretta Devine) is a beauty salon owner and single mother raising a teenage son (Donald Faison) who is preparing to leave home and travel the world with Up with People. After years alone and finding out that her ex husband David (Giancarlo Esposito) who is also the father of her son has come out of the closet as gay, she falls in love with a new neighbor, Marvin King (Gregory Hines).
[edit] Reception and box office
Waiting to Exhale was a financial success, opening at number-one at the North American box office, grossing $14.1 million in its first weekend of release.[5] In total, the film grossed $67.05 million in North America, and $14.4 internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $81.45 million.[6] Its widest release was in just over 1,400 theatres and was the 26th highest grossing film of 1995.[6]
Upon release, the film was received with mixed to negative from critics. Film critic, Susan Stark from The Detroit News stated, "For all the pleasure there is in seeing effective, great-looking black women grappling with major life issues on screen, Waiting to Exhale is an uneven piece."[7] Reviewer, Liam Lacey, from The Daily Globe and Mail said of the film, "[It] never escapes the queasy aura of Melrose Place: just another story about naive people with small problems."[8] However, film critic, Roger Ebert positively reviewed the film, stating that it is "an escapist fantasy that women in the audience can enjoy by musing, 'I wish I had her problems' - and her car, house, wardrobe, figure and men, even wrong men."[9] Nevertheless, the film received a "Rotten" rating from the film aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes with a rating of 54% from "T-Meter Critics", and a 40% rating from "Top Critics".[8]
In the book Is Marriage for White People?, Ralph Richard Banks, a writer and Stanford Law School professor, states that the film is a perfect example of the problems African-American women have in finding serious relationships.[10]
[edit] Soundtrack
- Full article: Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album
The soundtrack to the film featured many female African American artists. The soundtrack included the number-one hit song "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", sung by Whitney Houston,[11] as well as "Not Gon' Cry" by Mary J. Blige, "Sittin' Up in My Room" by Brandy, and "Count on Me" by Whitney Houston and CeCe Winans, all of which reached the top ten of Billboard's Hot 100 chart.[12]
[edit] Sequel
Interviewed in the spring of 2011 on an episode of The Talk, Angela Bassett confirmed that a rumored sequel was in the planning stages, with all the female principals signed on to star, and Whitaker returning to direct. The film will be based on Terry McMillan's 2010 follow-up novel, Getting to Happy; McMillan is adapting the book to screenplay as well.[13]
[edit] Cast
- Whitney Houston as Savannah 'Vannah' Jackson
- Angela Bassett as Bernadine 'Bernie' Harris
- Lela Rochon as Robin Stokes
- Loretta Devine as Gloria 'Glo' Matthews
- Gregory Hines as Marvin King
- Dennis Haysbert as Kenneth Dawkins
- Mykelti Williamson as Troy
- Michael Beach as John Harris, Sr.
- Leon as Russell
- Wendell Pierce as Michael Davenport
- Donald Faison as Tarik Matthews
- Jeffrey D. Sams as Lionel
- Jazz Raycole as Onika Harris
- Brandon Hammond as John Harris, Jr.
- Kenya Moore as Denise
- Wesley Snipes as James Wheeler (uncredited)
- Giancarlo Esposito as David Matthews (uncredited)
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Image Awards
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture:
- (Angela Bassett) Winner
- (Whitney Houston) Nominated
- Outstanding Soundtrack: Winner
- Outstanding Motion Picture: Winner
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture: (Gregory Hines) Nominated
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture:
- (Loretta Devine) Winner
- (Lela Rochon) Nominated
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture:
- MTV Movie Awards
- Best Female Breakthrough Performance: (Lela Rochon) Nominated
- Best Song from a Movie:
- Brandy - "Sittin' Up in My Room"
[edit] References
- ^ Box Office Mojo: Waiting to Exhale
- ^ Dutka, Elaine. "The Money's Where the Action Is; Movies: Big budgets and special effects push the film industry to yet another record performance". Los Angeles Times. May 22, 2006. December 31, 1996.
- ^ Seymour, Gene (1995-12-18). "Breathing Easier : 'Waiting to Exhale' Role Has Given Lela Rochon's Career a Dose of Fresh Air". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1995-12-18/entertainment/ca-15267_1_angela-bassett. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
- ^ Braxton, Greg (1996-03-30). "Angela Bassett Reaches a Stellar Groove at Last". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1996-03-30/entertainment/ca-52846_1_exhaling-rochon-role. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
- ^ Dutka, Elaine (1995-12-25). "It's a Big Sigh of Relief for 'Exhale'; Box office: Whitney Houston film opens strongly and could take in $11 million or more for the four-day weekend. 'Nixon' and 'Cutthroat Island' perform poorly.". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1995-12-25/entertainment/ca-17784_1_cutthroat-island. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
- ^ a b WAITING TO EXHALE Box Office Mojo Retrieved 2010-2-21
- ^ Waiting to Exhale (1995) Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved 2010-2-21
- ^ a b Waiting to Exhale (1995) Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved 2010-2-21
- ^ Waiting to Exhale (1995) Chicago Sun Times Retrieved 2010-2-21
- ^ John H. McWhorter. "Marrying Out". City Journal. http://www.city-journal.org/2011/bc0902jm.html.
- ^ Whitney Houston Billboard.com Retrieved 2010-2-21
- ^ Waiting to Exhale - Original...(1995) Billboard.com Retrieved 2010-2-21
- ^ Zakarin, Jordan (9 May 2011). "'Waiting To Exhale' Sequel: Whitney Houston Returns With Forest Whitaker". HuffPost Entertainment (HuffingtonPost.com). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/09/waiting-to-exhale-sequel-_n_859294.html. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
[edit] External links
- Waiting to Exhale at the Internet Movie Database
- Waiting to Exhale at AllRovi
- Waiting to Exhale at Rotten Tomatoes
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