"Waiting to Exhale," Thirty Years On

"The 1995 classic became as much a sociological phenomenon as an artistic one-but its designation as a "chick flick" belies its emotional sophistication and intelligence. Forest Whitaker's "Waiting to Exhale" is perhaps the quintessential "chick flick"-and an ideal case study for all that the cinematic subgenre can do. The "chick flick" often concerns heroines in the midst of personal transformation, and it's capacious enough to enfold romantic comedies ("You've Got Mail"), tragedies ("The Notebook"), friendship fables ("Beaches"), and mother-daughter dramedies ("Terms of Endearment"). Its conventions are cosmic: the serendipitous, life-altering "meet-cute" is sometimes a literal collision, if not a metaphorical one, and chance encounters have a way of adding up. Well-placed songs provide relief; mood and weather mix, as in "Moonstruck.""

""Exhale," about four women friends who support one another through a series of interpersonal crises, fits in the matrilineal musing, the music, the camaraderie, the pathetic fallacy-when one character finally ends her sexual dry spell, rain falls in the desert. These movies show women exploring their options, taking steps to pursue goals and love connections. In Whitaker's film, the protagonists are in different stages of nursing grief and developing new relationships. Because change is an act fraught with anxiety and confusion, the quartet spends the movie processing with one another, rhapsodizing, backsliding, and searching for moments to release-to let themselves breathe."

Waiting to Exhale (1995) functions as both a sociological phenomenon and an artistic work, labeled a 'chick flick' despite emotional sophistication and intelligence. The film centers on four women friends who support one another through interpersonal crises while navigating grief, new relationships, and personal transformation. The 'chick-flick' conventions appear—meet-cutes, well-placed songs, mood and weather as emotional cues—yet the film foregrounds matrilineal camaraderie, musical resonance, and the complex emotional labor of change. The protagonists process anxiety and confusion together, rhapsodizing, backsliding, and seeking release moments to breathe. The film broadens the genre to encompass tragedy, comedy, and familial dynamics.

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