Movie Review • Stella Payne & Winston Shakespeare was the relationship cougars strived to have in the 90’s. Can you imagine going on vacation to Jamaica & having a fling with one of the hot young locals? For writer Terry McMillian it did happen for her because the movie is loosely based on her & ex husband Jonathan Plummer relationship.Â
How Stella Got Her Groove Back unlocked a new level for black women due to there not being that type of relationship representation in film. Winston was not on Stella’s bingo card when she landed in Jamaica, but who could turn down all that chocolate at the brunch table? The thing that made Winston more attractive was his consistency. Although Stella somewhat turned him down, he knew that there was a chance for him to win her over & he kept shooting his shot & scored.
Delilah was the perfect friend to take on vacation. She had her eye on every piece of meat walking that island, young & old. She tried to hook Stella up with some old ex football player that was not Stella type but we all knew Stella had her eye on Winston. All it took was a couple of dances at the pajama party & another run in at the pool & Stella was ready to get her groove back. You knew it was more than sex by the way he caressed & held her, that was not a hit & quit type of night. Winston said I’m trying to be here as long as you let me. That night made Stella see him as more than just a fling but she couldn’t get past the 20 year age difference.
Once Stella made it back, you know her sisters were waiting for her to spill the tea. Angela was that sister you didn’t tell anything because she will ruin the mood, but Vanessa was the younger sister that was going to support you as long as you support her. All it took was 1 phone call from lil Winnie Pooh & Stella was back on that plane to Jamaica. Once Delilah got sick & passed Stella came back & Winston wasn’t too far behind when he showed up to the funeral unexpectedly. After staying with Stella for a while they both realized that they are in two different phases in their lives. We all know how it ended, she came to her senses & met that man at the airport & was ready to pay for his tuition at Stanford.
This was a nice & steamy love story that we love to re-watch. Although Terry McMillian & Jonathan divorced due to him coming out as gay years later, their love story inspired a 90’s classic. With the hot tea behind her divorce I’m surprised Terry wasn’t inspired to write a book about the divorce but that may have been a little too personal.
Order my new music trivia game Sample Me This here! http://melanated-source.com
