Simply A Masterpiece

Memorable, crazy movie

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I actually watched the 2018 documentary simply titled Whitney just the other day and when I mentioned it to someone he thought I was talking about this documentary, so I decided to watch it. This documentary is decidedly less depressing though it still brings you down. There's quite a bit of concert footage and a focus on Whitney's final successful tour which was in 1999. Of course this documentary, like this year's documentary, is mostly exploring what went wrong. We always want answers when a tragedy occurs and Whitney's death was tragic. Many hypotheses are given but there is no way to really know.

"Whitney: Can I Be Me", a documentary on the rise and fall of singer-actress Whitney Houston, doesn't have a question-mark in its title because the question is rhetorical--a mantra of Houston's which her crew put on a tape-loop: "C-C-C-Can I Be Me". It's an emblem of the woman who wanted to reclaim herself from the glossy clutches of stardom, goosed by her entourage as an in-joke, something to laugh about as the money from her pop records rolled in. Growing up in strife-ridden Newark, NJ, Whitney was exposed to drugs early on, even with a deeply-religious gospel singer, Cissy Houston, as her mom. With previously-unseen concert and backstage footage from her tour of Germany in 1999 anchoring the film, directors Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal deliver an insider's glimpse into the hectic world of a music star, one who is holding on to her sanity, her status in the industry and her role as a wife and mother with sweaty palms. With best friend and personal assistant Robyn Crawford at odds with Whitney's husband of nine years, Bobby Brown, Houston conveniently ignores the words of warning from a soon-to-be-fired bodyguard that her health is jeopardy. The woman ran herself into the ground, broken further still by her father suing her for a million dollars and a divorce from Brown in 2007. "I began to wait for the call that I eventually got," a loved one states. It was inevitable she would succumb to her addictions and heartbreak, and when Houston died February 2012 at the Beverly Hilton, a pre-awards Grammy bash going on in the same hotel went on without her (not mentioned here). This unexceptional document is a polite way to say goodbye to the singer, with some interesting thoughts from her staff but with no anecdotes or gossip or anything too personal. "I miss her laugh," Crawford writes. But there isn't much laughter showcased here. ** from ****

There is not much new that is revealed in this documentary. What is new is the fact its brought to our attention that Cissy Houston was a terrible mother! Cissy, you & Whitney would perform at Gay Bars (When Whitney Was Young) and yet you despised gay people because "Against God". So is divorce yet you had one. Drx before marriage BINGO that's against God as well. What troll you are Miss Cissy. Gay dollars were fine but we "Are going against God". Your foolish belief cost you not only your daughter but your grand daughter. It also seems no matter who "Whitney Loved" you were always against it. I think you were mad every time Whitney sold another record.Long before Whitney Married Bobby she was rumored to have a girlfriend and her new name is front and center in this documentary. Sad that Whitney felt forced to be straight because of her jealous mother made her life hell. I said years ago "Stop Blaming Bobby". Whitney's problems started long before he came along. Its just too to know what happened not only to Whitney but her daughter as well!

timing and humanity are absent from this performance and her pretentious and relentless charade of worldly defeatism doesn't work. Being grossbut there has to be some context, some originality and some relative experience for the viewer to engage with. I'd have to seriously question the professional judgment of the team that saw this past the ideas ! I'm assuming that they are all her friends or they divvied up her paycheck! How is this person a household name? Thankfully, nobody I know or am connected with openly admits to liking her unique talent for attention seeking!This is an epic fail!