Honestly, I didn't hate this movie as much as most others on here, but it does have some considerable flaws. Now first off, I'm usually not one of those race baiting affirmative action types. But it struck me about half way through this movie that nobody we've met is Hispanic. Hello! Not even any minor characters. Seriously even in 1995 at least half of Arizona was Hispanic. Had to be. All of the main characters in this film however are black, and a few of the supporting cast is white, but that's it! And of course, the white people are generally bad, inconsequential, or not to be trusted. Anyway, about the plot....
The story deals with four 30 something black women who cannot find a good man who isn't already married. Three of them at one point or another sleep with married men, two of them hoping that the married man will one day divorce their wives. Another woman's husband leaves her on New Year's Eve to be with his mistress after openly confessing the affair and his desire for their marriage to be over. But apparently the worst thing about that is the fact that his mistress is (gasp!) a white woman! In fact the wife (Bassett) seems more upset about that fact than anything. Since the concept of black men sleeping with and or settling down with white women is brought up more than once during the film in a negative way, one wonders how many men chose white women over author Terry McMillan. Maybe some of these black women might broaden their horizons and perhaps look for love outside their own skin color once in a while. Yet this film never even presents that as the slightest possibility for any of these characters.
The film is never boring though, and has strong acting performances from most of the characters. The cast is full of easily recognizable faces and names. Even Leon from Madonna's Like a Prayer video has a role as one of the men in these women's lives. The film shows many different potential suitors for these ladies, but also gives most of them a fatal flaw why he cannot be husband material. By the end of the film, only two of the four seem to have found good men, while the other two have at least come to their senses about the men they liked best. These women are very attractive, and the whole production feels like a big budget soap opera. Whitney Houston looks especially fine as this was made before Bobby Brown had her all strung out on crack. Antoine Fuqua's wife Lela Rochon is quite a site as well. Angela Bassett looks better in how Stella Got Her Groove Back. Her hair is just too short here after she cuts if off in a rage. And for all you in the audience who like a woman with meat on her bones, you'll love Loretta Devine. And her character seems the most grounded of the four. She doesn't chase after married men. She has enough trouble looking after her son. The film isn't great but I was never bored. And that isn't bad considering it lasts for two whole hours. Not a bad feature debut from director Forrest Whitaker. 6 of 10 stars.
The story deals with four 30 something black women who cannot find a good man who isn't already married. Three of them at one point or another sleep with married men, two of them hoping that the married man will one day divorce their wives. Another woman's husband leaves her on New Year's Eve to be with his mistress after openly confessing the affair and his desire for their marriage to be over. But apparently the worst thing about that is the fact that his mistress is (gasp!) a white woman! In fact the wife (Bassett) seems more upset about that fact than anything. Since the concept of black men sleeping with and or settling down with white women is brought up more than once during the film in a negative way, one wonders how many men chose white women over author Terry McMillan. Maybe some of these black women might broaden their horizons and perhaps look for love outside their own skin color once in a while. Yet this film never even presents that as the slightest possibility for any of these characters.
The film is never boring though, and has strong acting performances from most of the characters. The cast is full of easily recognizable faces and names. Even Leon from Madonna's Like a Prayer video has a role as one of the men in these women's lives. The film shows many different potential suitors for these ladies, but also gives most of them a fatal flaw why he cannot be husband material. By the end of the film, only two of the four seem to have found good men, while the other two have at least come to their senses about the men they liked best. These women are very attractive, and the whole production feels like a big budget soap opera. Whitney Houston looks especially fine as this was made before Bobby Brown had her all strung out on crack. Antoine Fuqua's wife Lela Rochon is quite a site as well. Angela Bassett looks better in how Stella Got Her Groove Back. Her hair is just too short here after she cuts if off in a rage. And for all you in the audience who like a woman with meat on her bones, you'll love Loretta Devine. And her character seems the most grounded of the four. She doesn't chase after married men. She has enough trouble looking after her son. The film isn't great but I was never bored. And that isn't bad considering it lasts for two whole hours. Not a bad feature debut from director Forrest Whitaker. 6 of 10 stars.