‘Waiting to Exhale’

The less seriously it takes itself, the more successful this 1995 film is. “Exhale” is based on Terry McMillan’s hugely successful novel that examined the life and loves of four close female friends living in contemporary Phoenix and played by Whitney Houston, Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon and Angela Bassett (pictured). They’re all “waiting to exhale,” hoping to feel comfortable enough in a relationship to relax into the long haul (HBO Tuesday at 8 p.m.).