Following a trend that started with the unexpected success of "Waiting to Exhale", "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" proves to be yet another entry in the increasingly lucrative African-American Women's film market. Unlike the other film based on a Terry McMillan bestseller, "Waiting to Exhale", "Stella" proves to be a better film, if only because it is less unwieldy and better focused in its aims.

This is the story of Stella Payne (Angela Bassett), high powered money market executive extraordinare who's got the house, the kid, the ex-husband and a body any forty year-old (or younger) woman would die for. What's lacking in her life is a sense of fun, spontaneity, excitement. On a whim, Stella decides to go on vacation with her best friend (Whoopi Goldberg) to Jamaica. There, she meets and falls for a twenty year old ingenue, Winston (Taye Diggs), who relentlessly romances her till, against her better judgment, Stella finds herself falling in love with him. Things, of course, do not go smoothly, not with his parents, nor her extended family (Regina King registers yet another impressive turn as the somewhat crazed ambulance driving sister Vanessa), and it takes all of a lost career, the death of a dear friend, numerous quarrels and spats and countless R&B-tinged moments before Stella finally gets back her groove and her man.

At the heart of the story lies a woman's quest for fulfilment in a world which demands that she be wife, lover, mother, sister, daughter, and successful at her career all at once. Unfortunately, Terry McMillan and her co-screenwriter Ron Bass (who also wrote "The Joy Luck Club" and "The Bridges of Madison County") have chosen to intertwine Stella's individual journey with her love affair with Winston, the proverbial younger man. The result is a diluted drama with a sometimes distracting romance given center-stage. While it is true that Stella regains herself by being brave enough to fall in love, the love story is inherently unconvincing - McMillan and Bass are too intelligent and sensitive to expect their audience to wholly expect a smooth sailing romantic ride, but at the same time, they want us to believe that in spite of the very real and numerous problems in their relationship, Stella and Winston will live happily ever after. Having your cake and eating it too is not the best way to make a movie. Following a handful of scenes where Stella and Winston try to resolve the problems stemming from the fact that they are at too different a stage of their individual lives to realistically compliment each other, the film's denouement showing them falling into each other's arms seems especially hollow.

However, all is not lost. In spite of a script that is often contrived and a running time that is too long by twenty minutes, "Stella" does offer a few wonderful treats. Angela Bassett gives an expectedly stunning performance as the title character. Through her skilful work, Stella comes across as a believable person who's genuinely struggling to make sense of her heart with her mind. She's particularly adept at portraying Stella's confusion and cross-purposes, making the character's weaknesses her strengths. She's ably supported by Whoopi Goldberg, on hand to lend comic relief and to die gracefully when the script contrives to jerk a few tears from the audience. Taye Diggs handles his sketchy role as best as he can, but apart from looking very desirable and being there, he is constrained by the way Winston is written. The rest of the ensemble cast play their parts perfectly, with "Jerry Maguire''s Regina King a particular treat to behold.

Director Kevin Rodney Sullivan often suffers from the "advertisement syndrome" - almost all the scenes occurring in Jamaica look as if they are commercials for the resorts there, complete with sweeping vista shots accompanied by uplifting muzak. These moments prove to be extremely distracting because they add a further glossy sheen of "unbelievability" to the already weak story. His handling of the actors is fine, but proceedings tend to drag somewhat - there's a palpable lack of tension onscreen even during moments of charged emotional conflict.

Overall, the film is a slick piece of entertainment, full of beautiful furniture, costumes and a hit soundtrack by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The cast of actors do their best, with Bassett a real marvel to watch. Unfortunately, the script and direction make it seem improbable that this is exactly how Stella got her groove back. One would have expected her to be sharper and quicker as she did it.

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© Copyright 1998. If you've got anything to add, write me at terrybrogan@hotmail.com. Or don't. Whatever.