avenuesf As a middle-aged man, I found this to be one of the most ridiculous films I've seen in some time. It's basically two hours of one dimensional portrayals of men by women complaining of being seen as one-dimensional by men. One fairly long scene in one of the characters' living room in which they all state their opinions of men flabbergasted me; why would any self-respecting man WANT any of these whining, narcissistic victims in the first place? Performances aside (except for Angela Bassett, who was totally wasted by never changing her angry expression throughout the whole film), the effort is pretty badly written, and the constant message of "those bad, bad males" starts to become tiring after awhile. I didn't find these women "strong..." I found them very entitled and, as another reviewer put it, self-absorbed. I don't think there was one male character in the film who was portrayed sympathetically or in a three-dimensional manner. It's interesting to me that when films like this come out portraying women in the same way, there's quite a brouhaha; when the tables get turned, it's "groundbreaking."

TOMASBBloodhound 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.

eric-evensen Simply fabulous.I thought it was a great movie. I was completely empowered! It made me want to start my exes car on fire.Embrace your independence – watch this movie. (is great to watch with the scorned over glasses of wine and bon bons) It'll make you laugh, cry, get mad, and then plot getting even.I can waste a lot of your time telling you to see it, defending it from what others say about it, or just generally talking it up. But haven't you always wanted to see Angela Basset throw a fit? How bout cut her hair off?And who wouldn't want to watch Whitney act with humility. This is by far my favorite movie with Whitney - second, The Bodyguard - third, The Preachers Wife.

nenetlabelgoss this movie and its story are quite good on the whole..........Ms Bassett is the leading and the best actress,for sure.I get her character.she's beautiful and I guess she's blown people away with her beauty and the EASE WITH WHICH SHE FASCINATES.Ms HOUSTON IS NOT TO NEGLECT NEITHER.She looks natural in this one.And despite her little experience as far as her actress career is concerned,she is good even though her story is a bit common .Loretta is divine!Anyways,this motion picture is merely good.There's nothing amazing.And it don't stand out from all the other movies.the only thing that makes me stick to the screen is the complicity and the crude humor on men of the four ladies!