Terry McMillan Presents: Tempted By Love Review: How Stella Got Her Groove Back Meets Waiting to Exhale

When you mix the main plot of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and sprinkle in a little Waiting to Exhale you end up with Lifetime's newest romantic movie Tempted by Love. Garcelle Beauvais stars in and executive produces the film. Vaughn W. Hebron (The Oval) also stars and co-produces. The film also stars Donna Biscoe, Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine.

Fans will recognize Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine who starred together in Waiting to Exhale (but don't expect too much from this mini reunion). I am not sure why Loretta is on the poster for this movie other than to draw the audience in as she has a very minor role.

Beauvais leads as the uptight Ava who finds herself leaving her coveted chef position at a high end restaurant to go back home and care for her auntie. She meets Luke, her ride share driver (and 20 years younger) who has an instant attraction to her but she plays hard to get. She has a lot going on with her auntie, the uncertainty of her job after being let go and her medical condition.

However, she can no longer fight their connection and shared interests and passion. Even when she finally agrees to date him there are restrictions in place. She does not want the scrutiny that comes with an older woman dating a younger man. The pair have adult conversations regarding the reality of what a relationship would be like. Ava after some encouragement from her auntie and best friend finally gives caution to the wind and goes all in with Luke.

When a job opportunity aboard for Ava and a culinary school acceptance letter for Luke threatens their happy union, Ava must put herself first, even if that means that there is no happy ending. I am ok with a couple not getting a happy ending - it is more realistic in a sense but we had all this build up and Ava was trying new things and discovering herself only to let Luke go and discover the world as a young man. I am not sure she really took into account his feelings and she comes off as almost using him.

I was surprised about how much chemistry Garcelle and Vaughn had. I also very much appreciated all the black culture this movie has and the black cast, vets and newcomers. Some areas of the script were rushed but the movie is made for TV. I enjoyed this film more than I have others on the network. If you are looking for something to watch for an hour and 45 minutes, this did the trick.

What did you think of the film? Drop a comment.