How Stella Got Her Groove Back . Tucson Weekly . 08-24-98

How Stella Got Her Groove Back

DIRECTED BY: Kevin Rodney Sullivan

REVIEWED: 08-24-98

Stella (Angela Bassett) may have gotten her groove back, but in the process she took mine away. After two hours and 20 minutes of ridiculous dialogue and clichéd situations, the only boogying I wanted to do was out to my car and far, far away from Whoopi Goldberg commenting on the Jamaican surf by saying "God is here," and six-figure Stella moaning about her mortgage amidst numerous Tommy Hilfiger product placements. This is a made-for-TV movie on the big screen, with the choppy editing and poor lighting to prove it. The semi-autobiographical story by Terry McMillan (Waiting to Exhale) is about 40-year-old Stella, who goes to Jamaica and enlists 20-year-old Winston (Taye Diggs) to pull her out of a sexual, emotional and creative dry spell. The majority of the film attempts to convince us that the two are in love, but Stella is so neurotic and Winston so accommodating that the requisite coupling at the end elicits screams rather than tears.

--Higgins

Full Length Reviews
How Stella Got Her Groove Back

Capsule Reviews
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
How Stella Got Her Groove Back

Film Vault Suggested Links
Home for the Holidays
Living Out Loud
Marius and Jeannette

Rate this Film
If you don't want to vote on a film yet, and would like to know how others voted, leave the rating selection as "Vote Here" and then click the Cast Vote button.