Product Description

Get ready to groove with this heartwarming comedy full of love and friendship, starring sexy Angela Bassett and comic superstar and Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg. Through good times and bad, Stella (Bassett) and Delilah (Goldberg) have always had each other. Now, Stella's so busy building a life that she's forgotten to really live. But Delilah is about to change all that. What starts as a quick trip to Jamaica, ends as an exhilarating voyage of self discovery as Stella learns to open her heart and find love - even if it's with a man 20 years her junior. A captivating comedy that's sure to entertain, How Stella Got Her Groove Back glows with warmth, humor and tenderness.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22196 in DVD
• Brand: TCFHE
• Released on: 2001-03-06
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 124 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Based on Terry McMillan's best-selling novel, How Stella Got Her Groove Back stars Angela Bassett as a 40-year-old, Manhattan stock trader and single mom whose static life gets a jolt during a vacation with her pal (Whoopi Goldberg) in Jamaica. Sparks fly when Bassett meets a 20-year-old stud (Taye Diggs) who has an ambivalent career path but a great body and lots of sexual energy to burn. After some prodding by Goldberg's warm-funny secondary character, Bassett gets it on with the fellow--and proceeds to worry about what she's doing with a man half her age. The film is most enjoyable in its sunny, exotic early scenes and becomes more formulaic once the unlikely couple transports their will-we-stay-together-or-won't-we tensions back to the Big Apple. But director Kevin Rodney Sullivan goes out of his way to make a movie unabashedly thick with fantasy and wish-fulfillment for female audiences (it's Diggs who reveals a lot more flesh than the regal Bassett). This is a Saturday-night movie all around. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

I Wasn't Wild About This One, But It's Worth a Look
Terry McMillan's followup to "Waiting to Exhale," "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," was dismissed by some critics as a fluffy beach romance novel. It definitely had its spunk, but suffered from an overall blah-ness that weighed it down. The movie version has similar problems. Our heroine, played by the fierce talent that is Angela Bassett, is a broker trying to balance her career and being a single mom. She, along with her best friend (Whoopi Goldberg), takes a vacation to Jamaica, where she falls for the striking Winston Shakespeare (Taye Diggs, whose Jamaican accent fades in and out throughout his otherwise solid performance). The problem? She's 40. And he's 20. You can pretty much imagine the issues these two have to face, as they decide whether or not to start a "serious" relationship. "How Stella..." is a pleasant movie, despite the often sappy touches that almost mar the film. The love story itself is fairly predictable, although the supporting roles from Suzzane Douglas and the always-dependable Regina King are pretty good. Don't go looking to get blown away by this movie. Like the novel on which it's based, it will pass your time nicely without requiring any deep thought.

The book was better
This movie has a promising start, but falters midway through. Where the book was entertaining and fun, the movie changes the story to insert dramatic subplots that did not exist in the book and make it more of a downer. Also, the picture on the cover promises much more Jamaica than is delivered - the movie does not focus on Jamaica as much as the book did, which minimizes its escapist potential. The casting is excellent and the acting good, and there are many funny parts, but on the whole the movie is simply average. Wait for it to come on TV, but don't spend your money on it. Buy the book instead and take it to the beach.

VERY ENTERTAINING; BOTH FUNNY AND TOUCHING
I was just flipping channels when I happened to run across this movie. I didn't even know what I was watching, but the engaging dialogue held my interest, so I just kept on watching - and I'm glad I did! I really enjoyed this movie about a gorgeous forty year old woman taking up with a friendly, charasmatic guy half her age. Will the relationship last beyond the initial thrill of romace in sunny, exotic Jamaica? Will it work in "real life" - after the vacation is over? These may be somewhat cliched questions, but the clever (and amazingly funny!) writing and excellent acting (with a little help from Whoopie Goldberg as the warm and humorous "best friend") make the whole film a delight to watch! My opinion, ladies? Your husband may not be thrilled, but this is a great flick to watch either alone, or with your girlfriends!