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The convivial yet mediocre romance saga about a 40-year-old stockbroker (Angela Bassett) and the 20-year-old beach god (Mr. Diggs as Winston Shakespeare) she meets whilst on vacation in Jamaica has an occasional moment of genuineness, but the film makes no bones about its seductive ambitions. Time was, a strong feminine libido could only be justified when tied to some elaborate tale of undying love. How Stella Got Her Groove Back is in the bold business of delivering vicarious, albeit polite, sensuality with little pretence and even less plot.
Wrapped in pretty travelogue tones, director Kevin Rodney Sullivan's first film tells its tale in simple terms. Based on novelist Terry McMillan's semi-autobiographical experience, the follow up to her Waiting To Exhale continues its sociological survey of high-achieving, middle class black women. A mover and shaker in San Francisco's version of Wall Street, Miss Bassett's Stella is a super-mom as well as a devoted athlete. But details of why her marriage failed are few, and the suddenly uncharacteristic impulse to leave her workaholic torment for a few days in paradise is never quite explained.
In any case, she goes, she sees, and she is enamoured of the young beefcake (or is he still calfcake?) who immediately claims her attention. At first uncertain how to react to Mr. Shakespeare's amorous advances, she consults Delilah, her best friend and travelling companion. Played by Whoopi Goldberg, whose characterisations rarely mince words, Delilah tells her girlfriend exactly what to do in no uncertain terms. Her two-word answer alone could easily account for the movie's R-rating.
Minor bickering accompanies the whirlwind romance, yet it's obvious the screenwriters are merely trying to manufacture legitimacy for the romantic chimera by sprinkling it with a dash of realistic adversity. A visit to Winston's parents, well-to-do island Brahmins, ratchets up the tension a tad when Mom Shakespeare's hoity-toity cattiness causes Stella to second-guess her cradle robbing ways. But she survives it. And since Winston isn't exactly sure if he's going to follow in his doctor dad's vocational footsteps, taking off with Stella to live in her posh Bay Area home seems a good idea.
Once happily ensconced there, where of course Winston gets along phenomenally well with Stella's sweet son, Quincy (Michael J. Pagan), the writers try to roll another barrel at the title character's shins. This time it's trouble on the job and a resultant career crisis, but again there's too much artificiality in the ploy. And then, just to make life really unfair, Delilah is hospitalised. Yet more troubles to test Stella's womanly mettle. As entertainment, the hogwash is passable. As drama, it is second rate.
The inherent problem is, Stella is an archetype, a superior example of the species. That's her assigned role.......her appeal. Heck.....she doesn't look anywhere near 40, and she attracted a man half her age, didn't she? Just what kind of courageous heroine would she be if these difficulties that vex mere mortals stood in the way of the romantic destiny that will ultimately complete her? If novelist Terry McMillan and co-writer Ron Bass really wanted to add dramatic conflict befitting their feature-length myth, they might have arranged some formidable intervention from Mount Olympus. Just how does Stella get her groove back? I doubt she ever really lost it.
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