Waiting to Exhale
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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) Terry McMillan (teleplay) Ronald Bass (teleplay) |
Starring | Whitney Houston Angela Bassett Loretta Devine Lela Rochon |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date(s) | December 22, 1995 (USA) |
Running time | 127 min. |
Language | English |
Budget | $15,000,000 |
IMDb profile |
Waiting to Exhale is a 1995 movie directed by Forest Whitaker. The movie was adapted from the novel of the same name by Terry McMillan and stars Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine. The story centers on four successful African-American women and their relationships with men and one another.
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[edit] Plot summary
Waiting to Exhale centers on four 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 another woman. Gloria Peaches (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.
[edit] Soundtrack
- Full article: Waiting to Exhale (soundtrack)
The soundtrack to the film featured many talented and experienced musicians. Houston is featured on three of the 16 songs on the soundtrack.
[edit] Cast
- Whitney Houston as Savannah 'Vannah' Jackson
- Angela Bassett as Bernadine 'Bernie' Harris
- Loretta Devine as Gloria 'Glo' Peaches
- Lela Rochon as Robin Stokes
- 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
[edit] Trivia
- Director Forest Whitaker was the unanimous first choice of the film's producers and screenwriters.
- Ironically, Houston's role in the film bore a strong resemblance to the first-person character in her hit "Saving All My Love For You" - to wit, a woman having an affair with a married man.
- Although Whitaker had earlier directed an HBO drama called Strapped (1993) --for which he received Best New Director honors at the Toronto Film Festival-- this film was his first job directing a full-length feature film.
- Forest Whitaker stated in an interview with Ebony Magazine that Robin Givens and Halle Berry were among the women who auditioned for the role of Robin. After casting Angela Bassett and Whitney Houston, he decided to go with relative unknowns for the other two roles, and the role of Robin was subsequently given to Lela Rochon.
- The #1 hit song "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", sung by Whitney Houston, is on the soundtrack to this film, as well as the Top 10 singles "Not Gon' Cry" by Mary J. Blige, "Sittin Up In My Room" by Brandy, and "Count On Me" by Whitney Houston and CeCe Winans.
- The movie has been featured in two episodes of The Simpsons: All Singing, All Dancing, where the family were put on hold for it but were told "not to hold their breath", and E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt), where it was mentioned in conversation.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Whitney Houston |
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Studio albums: Whitney Houston • Whitney • I'm Your Baby Tonight • My Love Is Your Love • Just Whitney Soundtracks: The Bodyguard • Waiting to Exhale • The Preacher's Wife Other albums: Whitney: The Greatest Hits • Love, Whitney • One Wish: The Holiday Album Discography • Chart achievements • Awards • Grammy history |