From left: Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon, Angela Bassett and Whitney Houston in a scene from "Waiting to Exhale" (1995)

Sticking together is no easy task. Film always seems to throw protagonists into hairy situations and if they go in with a partner, sometimes they don’t always come out with one. But for the following movies and TV shows, they stuck it out.

Whether romantic, platonic or familial the characters in the following list step up when they need to or are there in one way or another.

This is also the fourth and final week of Black History Month meaning this week’s list focuses specifically on stories highlighting Black characters.

”A Wrinkle in Time” (2018) — I actually enjoyed this fantastical story based on Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 young adult book more than a lot of people did (though I fully admit it’s not altogether great and I have not rewatched it since it was released). It’s wild, gorgeous, big and broad and focuses on the story of Meg Murry (Storm Reid) and her little brother Charles Wallace (Oz Kalvan) as they enter an alternate dimension in order to save their father Dr. Alex Murry (Chris Pine) who is stuck there. Their journey tests them every step of the way and forces Meg to be both her little brother’s protector and the only one who can save their dad. Director Ava DuVernay takes the source material and gives it a bold world for the screen. It definitely is a kids movie though and at times it seems too broad, but it’s a nice father-daughter/sister-brother/friendship story. Stream it on Disney+ or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube

”Black-ish” (2014-present) — The ABC single-camera sitcom has for seven seasons followed the upper-middle-class Johnson family headed by ad exec Dre (Anthony Anderson) and surgeon Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross) along with their five children and Dre’s parents who also live with them. The multi-generational family comedy follows most of the sitcom stylings of similar shows, but this one manages to throw in a few more serious episodes that discuss social justice, voting, and more recently COVID. Through all the antics and occasional seriousness, Dre and Bo always manage to work things out — even during a multi-episode arc when it looked like they might not. Stream it on ABC and Hulu or rent episodes from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

”Girls Trip” (2017) — In one of the funniest movies to be released in the past five years, it takes the raunchy comedy that is usually reserved for films starring men and gives the Flosse Posse the edge and does it brilliantly. The Posse of four best friends have drifted apart over the years have reunited to join successful Ryan (Regina Hall) on a trip to the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans where she will deliver the keynote. When all the ladies land in NOLA, they reconnect and reignite their wild sides through partying and romancing. Stream it on Hulu (with Live TV) or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

”Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” (1993) — While the first of the “Sister Act” films is pretty solid, the second part is leaps and bounds better — though this could just be because I watched a lot more when I was a kid. In it, we reunite with Deloris/Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopi Goldberg) as she is urged to redon her habit to help teach inner-city teens music at a crumbling school that is in danger of shutting down. Deloris agrees and begins shaping the students into incredible singers as we find out more about the tense relationship between star pupil Rita (Lauryn Hill) and her mother (Sheryl Lee Ralph). And through it all, the nuns have Deloris’ back and she has theirs and her students’. Stream it on Disney+ or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

”Waiting to Exhale” (1995) — The story of four friends as they navigate love and changes in their relationships. Together they lend support to one another making it one of the quintessential women-supporting-women stories out there. Each of their lives is different but the struggle to find a good man is universal between them. It’s uneven with its performances and the pacing but it was one of the first big films of the romantic genre to highlight an all-Black cast of women. It is also the theatrical directorial debut of future Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker. Rent it on Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube.