International Chick Lit Month: Retro Review - Waiting to Exhale

For many people Bridget Jones was the first Chick Flick movie but as far as I am concerned it was  Waiting to Exhale that put the genre on the map. Based on the best-selling book by Terry McMillan, this movie set the world alight when it was released in 1996. I was in the cinema watching with my bestie the first night it was released and you could feel a real frenzy in the air. Waiting to Exhale is the story of four African American friends called Bernadette Harris played by Angela Bassett, Savannah Jackson played by Whitney Houston, Robin Stokes played by Lela Rochon and Gloria Matthews played by Loretta Devine who are at different stages of their lives. Bernadette's perfect life is turned upside down when her husband of ten years ups and leaves her and their two kids for his secretary and she is forced to go to court to fight for what is rightfully hers. Savannah has it all, great looks, independence, fabulous job and apartment but the only thing that is missing is the right guy. Robin is a high powered executive who is blessed with stunning looks and a smart brain yet lacks serious judgement when it comes to picking guys. Gloria runs her own successful salon and spends the rest of her time keeping an eye on her teenage son and has more or less given up on the idea of finding romance.

To me Waiting to Exhale set a precedence in the way women related to each other in films and TV - we had independent and sassy women who juggled careers, family, love lives and friends and who also spoke frankly to each other about their desires. It was a trend that was later emulated in Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle, Soul Food and Girlfriends. That film was really ahead of its time and when I watch it now it still has a really fresh feel to it. All the issues that are covered are relevant today and the dialogue is as sharp as ever. Also it is one of a few films where the adaptation is just as good as the book. The first person narrative in the film worked amazingly well and gave us a real insight into the four women's personalities. Waiting to Exhale has it all, humour, love and friendship all wrapped up in a fantastic package. Much to my delight a sequel to the book was released last year which is rumoured to be turned into a film hopefully with the original cast. I can't wait.

The Black Behind the Camera

Not long ago I was complaining about the lack of Black programmes on TV. Well it seems as though someone was listening to me because we now a good selection of Black shows currently on the networks or about to hit the small screen. The most prominent of them is The Game which made it's widely anticipated comeback two weeks ago much to a lot of excitement. Running for four seasons on CW, The Game was suddenly axed but after having witnessed the sudden departure of Girlfriends in 2008, the African American viewers were not going to sit back and let the same happen to The Game. So on 11th January BET aired the fifth season of the popular sitcom. That night The Game was followed by brand new sitcom, Let's Stay Together which is about five friends who are juggling relationships in their different stages. We have Tasha and Jamal who are married with a little boy, Stacy and Charles who are recently engaged and Kita who is taking a break from dating. Lets Stay Together is produced by Queen Latifah under her company, Flavor Unit Productions.

Over on TV One we have Love That Girl starring Tatyana Ali. Tatyana plays a divorcee who moves back home with her family in order to get her life back on track. The four part series is created by a predominately Black crew including Martin Lawrence and Bentley Kylie Evans while Tatyana acts as producer. This is Tatyana's second producing role - you might remember that she created the web series Buppies with her sister in 2009 and Lawrence and Evans have worked together before on Martin and The Jamie Foxx Show. Coming soon is Single Ladies which is another Queen Latifah joint and is a dramedy about three best friends who live in Atlanta. Starring Lisa Raye, Lauren London and Stacey Dash, the series covers sex and relationships set to the background of music, fashion and celebrity. Not surprIsingly. Single Ladies has been compared to Girlfriends and of course Sex and the City. The series has been picked up by VH1 and will air on 30th May in the USA with a special two hour pilot and will feature celebrities such as Common, Chilli, Eve and Kim Porter. The actual series starts in July. I cannot tell you how great it is to see so many TV projects starring Black talent in fuition. Even more pleasing is the amount of Black talent behind the camera. This is what everyone has been going on about; that in order to make a change we need more people of colour in powerful positions. Let's not forget that The Game might be produced by Kelsey Grammer but it is actually the brains of Mara Brock Akil. It looks like 2011 is going to be a great year for Black people behind the camera.

You can watch full episodes of Love That Girl here.

Buppies

I will be honest I have never really paid much attention to BET (US or UK), because I have never found their shows to be particularly appealing. Then a few weeks ago I came across a trailer for a show called Buppies which starred Tatyana Ali, she of The Fresh Prince fame. That got me interested for a few reasons; a show with a group of twentysomthing Blacks working in the entertainment industry is very sexy. Also the term Buppies always takes me back to 80s with the Thatcherism era of power suits,  filofaxes and consumerism so I was keen to see how it would translate to the US in 2009.  Buppies is a webseries about five close knit friends who reside in LA. The lead character is Quinci, played by Tatyana Ali, an IT girl who had it all - great career, loving relationship with a guy she was planning to marry, fantastic friends and a close bond with her father. Then her life comes crashing around her ears when her Dad dies and her fiance dumps her right before their wedding. Totally crushed, Quinci begins to realise that it is her close friends who are now her family and rock. Her inner circle consists of Priscilla, played by Robin Thede who is a magazine editor and likes the finer things in life. Priscilla's other half, Eliot played by Preston Davis works as a sports agent but is shielding a dark secret. Shaka, played by Ernest Waddell is a corporate lawyer by day and a rapper by night who is a bit of a ladies man. Then there is Kourtney, played by Chante Frierson who is a music industry heiress but is as feisty as they come.

Buppies is not a bad programme, it is entertaining enough to watch in bites of 10 minutes.  This is because the plot is not very fast moving and not an awful lot happens in the show. However there are some interesting characters who have potential to develop over time. Aside from cultural references to designer labels and fancy cars there is not much sign of wealthy living in Buppies: I was expecting to see the characters situated in lavish houses, shopping on Rodeo Drive and travelling by private jets. Sadly all this remains to be seen and what we are left with is dodgy scenery. Hopefully this will change soon as the series goes on but I am afraid Buppies really has to up its game for people to really take it seriously as a mesh of Girlfriends and Sex and the City.

This is BET's first online series and airs on Wednesdays at 3.00pm. You can watch it online here.

Check out a preview of the show below.


BUPPIES - Visit: BUPPIES.BET.COM to watch! from BUPPIES on Vimeo.

Girlfriends

It has taken me a while to get onto this show. I have heard it mentioned in various magazines and blogs but until a few months back I had no concept of what it was like. Thanks to itunes I was able to watch series seven which is the aftermath of Toni's demise and the tragedy in New Orleans. Without the prior history it took me a while to get into it but once I had sussed out the who was who I was hooked. I have watched all of series seven and I am now onto series eight, which I understand is to be the final series. Damm typical, I find a great show and it is about to end. Still I have the early shows to look forward to. I am hunting for the first six series because I am dying to meet Toni! She is like an enigma to me because she is mentioned many times but of course I have not met her. Girlfriends is an American sitcom about the trials and tribulations of four African American female friends. It is created by Mara Brock Akil who worked on the sitcom, Moesha which starred R&B singer, Brandy and it is produced by Kelsey Grammer who we all know from Frasier.

One of the many reasons why I love this show is because of the fantastic witty dialogue and the intensity of the characters. Everyone of them is complex and has many levels to them and moreover they have flaws. What is so amazing about Girlfriends is that it shows how each person deals with their imperfections and how they are accepted by their peers despite them. My favorite characters are Mya played by Golden Brooks and Darnell played by Khalil Kain; these two have been through the mill but are still going strong. I just adore Mya's sassiness and Darnell's gentleman qualities and he proves that a guy does not need to play the hard man to be strong. Lyn played by Persia White is pretty hit and miss to me - I guess she is the Phoebe of the group but I just don't get her bohemian qualities and find her parasite ways down right annoying. I love Monica played by Keesha Sharp with her fiestiness but I find William played by Reginald C. Hayes (what is up wit that hair?) a complete bore. Which brings me to Joan who is played by Tracee Ellis Ross (Diana Ross' daughter!); it is difficult to describe whether I like her or not. Sometimes her snobbish attitude makes me want to throw things at the TV and at other time she can be very sweet. I guess that is the beauty of Girlfriends, you have real characters that make you think.