Rating (Anticipated): 4/5 Stars (A Mature, Heartfelt Look at Friendship and Midlife)
Director: [Hypothetical Director: Forest Whitaker, as originally planned] Starring: Angela Bassett (Bernadine), Loretta Devine (Gloria), Lela Rochon (Robin) Genre: Ensemble Drama / Friendship / Relationship
WAITING TO EXHALE 2: BREATHE AGAIN catches up with the four iconic friends—Bernadine, Gloria, Robin, and Savannah—fifteen years after the events of the original film. The sequel is a poignant, often raw, examination of what happens when women achieve the stability they fought for in their thirties, only to face new, more profound crises in their mid-fifties and sixties.
1. The Core Premise: Drifting Apart, Falling Together
The film opens by acknowledging the greatest change: the passage of time. The tight-knit sisterhood that defined the first film has loosened due to successful careers, marriage, and distance. The title, Breathe Again, suggests the necessity of the women rediscovering their support system after life has knocked the air out of them.
- Honoring Savannah: The film handles the absence of Savannah Jackson with grace and respect, establishing that her memory and wisdom remain the spiritual anchor of the group, influencing their decisions and emphasizing the permanence of their bond.
- The New Crises: Each woman faces a fresh, defining heartbreak, forcing them back into the communal fold:
- Bernadine (Angela Bassett): Having successfully rebuilt her life after her divorce, Bernadine discovers that settling into new relationships and accepting the vulnerabilities of late-life dating is harder than fighting her ex-husband.
- Robin (Lela Rochon): Robin, always the most chaotic and boy-crazy, has achieved professional success but faces the sobering reality of her biological clock and the consequences of a lifetime of prioritizing fleeting romance over commitment.
- Gloria (Loretta Devine): Gloria faces the most profound loss: the sudden death of her beloved husband, Marvin. She spirals into deep grief, threatening the survival of her thriving business and her own health, forcing her friends to intervene dramatically.
2. Thematic Depth: Getting to Happy
The film successfully adapts the difficult, sometimes somber, themes of Terry McMillan’s novel Getting to Happy.
- Self-Growth and Acceptance: The narrative emphasizes the journey of self-acceptance. The women are too old for the petty drama of their thirties; their conflicts are now internal—battling addiction, fighting the stagnation of long-term marriage, and facing the loneliness of widowhood.
- The Value of Sisterhood: The sequel challenges the initial easy closeness of the four friends. They are forced to confront the fact that they have drifted, and the effort required to rebuild their sisterhood is a conscious, necessary choice, not a passive given. The film showcases the profound comfort and unflinching honesty that only this kind of deep, generational friendship can provide.
3. Conclusion: The Power of the Exhale
The film culminates not in a single act of vengeance or a grand airport scene, but in a quiet, emotional reunion where the three surviving women acknowledge their losses and reaffirm their commitment to each other and to the memory of Savannah.
The final scene is a powerful, understated moment of shared vulnerability, proving that true happiness in midlife is found not in securing a perfect man or a perfect job, but in the enduring strength of the chosen family that allows them, finally, to breathe again.
