PLOT SYNOPSIS

A surprise Hollywood hit, this film is based on the novel of the same name by Terry McMillan and centers on four well-to-do African-American women 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. Robin (Lela Rochon) is the long-time mistress of Russell (Leon), who keeps reneging on his promise to leave his wife for her. She dumps him to find a man she can have to herself, but her dates with a reliable but unattractive business partner (Wendell Pierce) and a drug addict (Mykelti Williamson) send her back to Russell. Savannah (Whitney Houston) is a successful television producer who also believes that her married lover Kenneth (Dennis Haysbert) will leave his wife. Bernadine (Angela Bassett) is a wealthy woman who abandoned her own career to raise a family. Her husband is now leaving her to marry a white woman. Gloria (Loretta Devine) is a beauty salon owner and single mother raising a teenage son. After years alone, she falls in love with a new neighbor, Marvin (Gregory Hines). The women share their stories over lunches and conversations at Gloria's salon. — Michael Betzold, all movie guide

REVIEW

Forrest Whitaker's film version of Terry McMillan's best-seller about the romantic woes of four African-American women is an entertaining soap opera. Each of these middle- to upper-middle-class women (Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Lela Rochon, and Loretta Devine) have reason to bewail the quality of men they've been involved with, and here they give vent to their anger. Whitaker's film gives these women plenty of room to stretch out, some might say too much. The film has some wonderful moments, such as Bassett burning her rich husband's clothes when he dumps her, and some hilarious riffs on their various boyfriends' sexual peccadillos, but there are also swatches of banality that could easily have been cut. None of the relationships of the women are probed in depth, and, appropriately, most of the male characters exist only to illustrate a point. Among the few exceptions is Gregory Hines, who has a nice turn as a laid-back handyman who hooks up with Devine. Despite their problems with men, the film is really a backhanded tribute to both the independence and sustaining friendship of these four women. — Michael Costello

CAST

Whitney Houston ..... Savannah Jackson
Angela Bassett ..... Bernadine Harris
Loretta Devine ..... Gloria Matthews
Lela Rochon ..... Robin Stokes
Gregory Hines ..... Marvin King
Dennis Haysbert ..... Kenneth
Mykelti Williamson ..... Troy
Michael Beach ..... John Harris, Sr.
Leon ..... Russell
Wendell Pierce ..... Michael
Donald Adeosun Faison ..... Tarik Matthews
Jeffrey D. Sams ..... Lionel
Jazz Raycole ..... Onika Harris
Brandon Hammond ..... John Harris, Jr.
Starletta DuPois ..... Savannah's Mother
Wesley Snipes ..... James Wheeler (uncredited)
Kelly Preston ..... Kathleen (uncredited)

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Forest Whitaker - Director
Deborah Schindler - Producer
Ezra Swerdlow - Producer
Ronald Bass - Executive Producer
Terry McMillan - Executive Producer
Caron K - Associate Producer
Terry McMillan - Screenwriter
Ronald Bass - Screenwriter
Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds - Music
Toyomichi Kurita - Cinematography
Richard Chew - Film Editing
Jaki Brown - Casting
David Gropman - Production Design
Marc Fisichella - Art Direction
Michael W. Foxworthy - Set Decoration
Judy L. Ruskin - Costume Design
Thomas C. Ford - Special Effects