The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Waiting to Exhale
Comedy · Drama · Romance · 1995
Cheated on, mistreated and stepped on, the women are holding their breath, waiting for the elusive "good man" to break a string of less-than-stellar lovers. Friends and confidants Vannah, Bernie, Glo and Robin talk it all out, determined to find a better way to breathe.
Movie details
Waiting to Exhale
“Friends are the people who let you be yourself... and never let you forget it.”
1995 Comedy · Drama · Romance 2h 7m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
Cheated on, mistreated and stepped on, the women are holding their breath, waiting for the elusive "good man" to break a string of less-than-stellar lovers. Friends and confidants Vannah, Bernie, Glo and Robin talk it all out, determined to find a better way to breathe.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Waiting to Exhale?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Laggies
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Jerry Maguire
Comedy · 1996
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Forest Whitaker
Written by
Terry McMillan · Ronald Bass
Whitney Houston
Savannah
Angela Bassett
Bernadine
Loretta Devine
Gloria
Lela Rochon
Robin
Gregory Hines
Marvin
Dennis Haysbert
Kenneth
Mykelti Williamson
Troy
Court is in session
Put Waiting to Exhale on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.