How Stella Got Her Groove Back is a 1998 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, adapted from Terry McMillan's best-selling 1996 novel of the same title.

[3] Stella Payne, a very successful 40-year-old stockbroker, is a single parent raising her 11-year-old son Quincy in Marin County, California.

Stella sends Quincy to his father's for two weeks and then, seeing an ad for Jamaican vacations, spontaneously calls her best friend from college, Delilah Abraham in New York City, to propose a visit.

Winston's pursuit of Stella turns into a blossoming romance that is abruptly interrupted when a chef hires him as an assistant, which prevents her from seeing him for the rest of her trip.

Stella's old brokerage calls try to lure her back with the offer of a vice-president's position and a $275,000 salary, which she turns down to try to found her own firm.

After a week without an answer, Winston announces that he intends to go back to Jamaica and enroll in medical school, and takes a taxi to the airport.

The website's critics consensus reads: "Angela Bassett gracefully breezes through a hot summer fling without much conflict or ado, leaving us wondering when -- or if -- she's ever getting that groove back.

[2] A panel with Angela Bassett and director Kevin Rodney Sullivan took place at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023.