"At turns sober, poignant, endearing and hilarious, this film is about four women searching for that someone good enough to make them gasp."

Waiting to Exhale - The Big Picture
Over the span of a single year, four female friends weather triumph and revenge, sons and mothers, ex-husbands and new lovers, under a powerful umbrella of camaraderie. Their lovelorn quests are filled with passion, disappointment, revelation and just enough sassy friendship to see them through on their seemingly never-ending searches for Mr. Right.

Plot Thickeners
For years, Savannah (Whitney Houston) has been asking God to send her a decent man. Instead, she got the two-timing Lionel (Jeffrey D. Sams) and the very married Kenneth (Dennis Haysbert). "God's got a lot of explaining to do," concludes Savannah. She eventually leaves her hometown of Denver, where she claims "the men are dead," and heads for Phoenix, where she hopes to become a successful TV producer and to snag the ideal man who has eluded her all these years.

Savannah's girlfriend Bernadine (Angela Bassett), is equally in need of some good girlfriend advice. She has just gotten the news that, her husband, after years of treating her like office help, is leaving the kids, the house and the BMW, and taking off with his bookkeeper. Suddenly single, Bernadine is boiling over with anxieties about the rest of her life that only heat up when she has a chance encounter with a man named James.

Robin (Lela Rochon) is suffering form a modern-day syndrome right out of talk-show TV: she cant stay away from pretty men who lie and cheat, and can't get attracted to ordinary-looking nice guys. Meanwhile, Gloria (Loretta Devine), unlike the rest of her friends, isn't seeking solace in men at all. Instead, she finds it in food, her trendy hair salon and her precocious but difficult teenage son Tarik (Donald Faison). But now that her son is growing up, Gloria is about to set out into the world again, beginning with her intriguing new neighbor, Marvin (Gregory Hines).

You're home early, girlfriend!
Quicktime (955k) or AVI (975k)

Notes and Quotes
Director Forest Whitaker was the unanimous first choice of the film's producers and screenwriters, who were impressed not only with his ideas about the story, but also with his impressive acting background, which they knew would prove invaluable to the production. "The fact that Forest comes from an acting background makes him very sensitive to actors' needs and also the quality of their performances," said co-producer Ezra Swerdlow. "We felt that this was ultimately a performance piece, and that the actors would need to feel they were in very capable hands. With Forest, a wonderful actor in his own right, at the helm, we were certain the cast would feel extremely confident that their performances were being protected."

In spite of this praise, Whitaker was reluctant to take on the challenge, considering that the story is about four women. "I actually felt they should try to find a female director," said Whitaker. However, the story's universal themes quickly drew him in. "The story is about relationships. It's about life and love and overcoming obstacles; these are themes that relate to both men and women. It's about just trying to go forward and have some happiness in your life and make the right choices."

Whitaker also knew that the film's soundtrack would play a key role in delineating these themes. Early in the production, he brought in multiple Grammy Award-winner Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds to compose the picture's score, as well as write and produce original songs for the soundtrack. "I thought it would be an integral part of the women's lives and help tell the story," said Whitaker. Bringing Edmond's music to life is an unprecedented powerhouse lineup of today's hottest "divas" who recorded the all- female soundtrack-including Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, and many others.

From Book to Film
Inspired by her own experiences moving through volatile romances, Terry McMillan's best-selling 1992 book is a reflection on the lives of personal friends, who-like her-were "educated, smart, attractive . . . and alone." As an examination of contemporary relationships, "Waiting to Exhale" was an obvious choice to bring to the screen. McMillan and the producers sought the help of the experienced screenwriter Ronald Bass, who brought his own perspective to the characters and their experiences. "They doubted themselves more than I doubted them," said Bass, "and that is something that attracts me in writing characters, particularly female characters-the chance for someone to grow into a realization of how wonderful she really is. I think this is the journey that each of these four women needed to take in the course of this story."

Additionally, said Bass, "my goal was to handle the story in such a way as to bring out the universality of the emotions that the characters go through; my hope is that people who are neither African-American nor female will sit down, look at that screen, as I looked at these characters and say, 'That's me. I feel it. I've been there. I've felt what that woman feels.'"

No party tonight...
Quicktime (842k) or AVI (861k)

For Trivia Experts Only
Although Whitaker had earlier directed an HBO drama called "Strapped"--for which he received Best New Director honors at the Toronto Film Festival--"Waiting to Exhale" is his first job directing a full-length feature film.