Waiting to Exhale


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.

Producer(s): Deborah Schindler, Ezra Swerdlow
Cast: Leon
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