Waiting to Exhale

"Waiting to Exhale" is a slice of life movie about the challenges African American women face in modern American. It follows the lives and loves of four very different black women (played by Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine and Lela Rochon) who are, nonetheless, all good friends. As with anyone, their two big challenges in life are their relationship to work/money and their relationship to romance. The trials and tribulations of these challenging areas are tempered by their ability to call on each other for wisdom, emotional support, affirmation, and the strength to sometimes exhibit grace under fire. A lot of movies in this genre clearly show that a good man is hard to find but most of them are set in the ghetto where high rates of both unemployment and incarceration leave few good candidates for marriage. This movie showcases the fact that money and career success do not magically cause these problems to go away. These four beautiful, hard working, successful, privileged black women still find a shortage of good men. Between married lovers, philandering husband's, and more problems, they each struggle with and lament their man troubles. Unlike many movies, which routinely focus on the weaknesses and problems in black America, this one showcases one of the strengths of African American culture: The flexible matriarchal social structure inherited from some African tribal cultures which gives these women a place to turn and people to lean on in times of trouble. Like a pride of lions organized around the females of the group, this circle of friends is the one constant they can really count on to help them weather life's inevitable storms. They learn that they may sometimes have to accept change and make compromises when it comes to men but they can always count on each other and they learn they will be okay, with or without romance drama.