Whitney (Lifetime)

[niklj]

I had to peace out of that mess at :20 into it. I'm sorry that anyone had to watch the entire thing, because I can only imagine how painful that was based on the 20 minutes I watched.

 

I peaced out after 15 min. I couldn't care less about Bobby. Bobby didn't look remotely like Bobby.

 

They should've just called this movie "Bobby." But then they probably knew no one would watch.

 

So far the only good TV biopic I've seen lately has been the TLC one on VH1, but maybe that's because they actually had the talent onboard and had the rights to their recordings. It also had all the elements of a good biopic, which includes the Rise to Stardom. Why the heck did this movie start when she was already famous?! BORING.

[AgentRXS]

I only caught the last 20 minutes but felt like the movie ended right in the middle. Yaya did ok. It did make me nostalgic for those old Mad TV clips, though.

That aftershow interview with Bobby (Bob-bay!) Brown was chockful of BS. 13 years of sobriety, my ass. He's trying to convince me he was sober when filming Being Bobby Brown? No, sir. And yeah right, Whitney just "happened to keep getting filmed". No, what happened was Bravo only picked it up because of Whitney. No one was interested in Bobby without Whitney. And CrackedOut!Whitney in all her drug-addled glory was ratings gold.

As much as Whitney was crazy about Bobby, I never believed he loved her at all. Always thought he was using her for her access to drugs and money. I never cared about who introduced who to drugs, to me that was irrelevant.

When Bobby was yammering about his new wife and 10,000th child on the way, it mad me sad that never got herself together and found love and happiness after Bobby. I'm sad that a woman with such beauty and talent threw her life away like that.

 

Anyway, for those who don't remember, here's a link to Debra's Wilson's Whitney:

Edited January 18, 2015 by AgentRXS

[Maharincess]

I'm having problems with the live blog.

Man, this movie SUCKS! Geez.

My husband's take on this so far: "Oh, shmooopie, shmoopie."

I need some drugs to get through the rest of this. My glass of wine ain't cutting it.

BOBBBAY!

Alcohol sucks. My bong is working very well.

BoogieBurns, thank you! That guy looked so familiar. I remember Wesley Jonathon from What I Like About You.

This movie is so boring, I got up and made brownies about halfway through. Now I'm ironing and that's more entertaining than this movie is.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Maharincess

[GaT]

I'm about 20 minutes into this movie, Yaya DaCosta should stick to modeling reality shows, because acting isn't her strong suit. The voice she is using is driving me crazy, it's like chalk on a blackboard.

[GaT]

Well, I finished it. Not good. I thought it was going to be a movie about Whitney, but it was really a movie about Whitney & Bobby's relationship. Plus, it ran over, so the recording ended while she was singing "I Will Always Love You". I wasn't looking at the screen so all of a sudden the singing stopped & I thought it was a dramatic pause until I realized it was a really long dramatic pause. I looked up & saw the delete/don't delete message. Oh well.

[Avaleigh]

Was that supposed to be LA and Babyface? Argh. SMH.

 

 

For a moment I was wondering why Jermaine Jackson would be sitting in on a recording session of Whitney's. 

I can't believe that they included Robyn in this movie.

 

 

I thought the inclusion was interesting as were the actress's facial expressions during the wedding ceremony scene. The hints were there. They said a lot without actually saying anything IMO. 

 

The best I can say about this movie is that it's better than the recent Aaliyah biopic. 

 

Too true that it should have been called Whitney and Bobby. I'm disappointed in how much they whitewashed Bobby and dislike the way that there was little focus on any of Whitney's relationships with other people in her life like family members and business associates. I also agree with everyone who thinks that we should have had a journey with Whitney and had scenes from a period prior to when she was famous. 

 

Oh and I can't believe that Bobby thinks people will believe that he's been clean and sober for thirteen years. No freaking way. 

 

Hopefully one day a theatrical film will be made with a better script and the rights to Whitney's music.

[JudyObscure]

I only caught the last 20 minutes but felt like the movie ended right in the middle.

I only caught the first 20 minutes and felt like it started in the middle. Where was the big moment when they first make it big that I watch these things for?

What in the world did she ever see in Bobby Brown? Was it just those abs? It infuriates me every time I hear a man brag about being, "In my child's life," as he walks out the door. What does that even mean? He's going to send a check now and then and show up on Father's Day to collect his gift? Here's a clue all you Bobby Browns, good fathers are actually there on the couch when their children go to bed at night and in the kitchen making some eggs in the morning.

[jah1986]

I was so mad after watching this I couldn't sleep (I know). I agree with those who said it should have been called Bobby. And Yaya did have the mannerisms down but like another poster said her voice was just irritating and the constant giggling got on my nerves. Did we ever hear the real Whitney speak in the baby voice that drives me insane in grown women?

 

I refused to watch that interview after. Did BB executive produce or write the script? Because this was just hating on Whitney. They should have called it Poor Bobby Brown, look how this woman just ruined his life. 

 

As bad as it was I do feel like it should have been longer just to cover more of the interesting parts of her life, but I guess Bobby just wasn't interesting once he and Whitney broke up, which did not happen when Bobbi was a toddler.  This show, SMH.

[mwell345]

Ok, to be honest, I missed the first 40 minutes because I was watching Lee Daniel's The Butler which had brilliant acting.

I thought what I saw was terrible, and I was so glad I stayed with The Butler. Am I supposed to feel sorry for Bobby Brown, poor misunderstood Bobby Brown? I don't. I would also like to have seen more of Whitney AFTER Bobby Brown because it seems like (in real life) she might have tried to pull herself together at some point only to fall back.

This was so superficial, and the nightclub scenes and the concert scene (of her in the different dresses singing I'm Every Woman) went on too long. I came away not knowing anything more about Houston than I did before the picture aired.

[yourpointis]

This movie was crap. Yaya was not ghetto enough to portray Whitney. Clive may have tried to transform Whitney into a pop princess, but no matter Whitney's upbringing she was still ghetto and not ashamed to show it. Nothing new was learned from viewing this so called biopic that couldn't be acquired from a quick Google search. Most people already knew Whitney was using drugs prior to her meeting Bobby. Hell she was a backup singer for Chaka Khan at age 14/15 and everyone knows Chaka was no stranger to getting high. That chance meeting at the Soul Train awards was bunk. It was allegedly set up for those two to meet when the rumors of Whitney being in a lesbian relationship with Robin got louder. No mention of Whitney having to choose between Robin or Bobby in her life was a big miss as well as the fact that Whitney's so called peers partying it up while her body laid cold just a few feet above during the pre Grammy party yet the movie stated that Hollywood was rocked to its core after hearing of her death. It appears Cissy Houston had a stranglehold on what would/would not appear in this film. ymmv

[Rick Kitchen]

If Cissy had such a stranglehold, wouldn't she have made sure that Bobby Kristina got the part?

[anadyr21]

This movie was crap. Yaya was not ghetto enough to portray Whitney. Clive may have tried to transform Whitney into a pop princess, but no matter Whitney's upbringing she was still ghetto and not ashamed to show it. Nothing new was learned from viewing this so called biopic that couldn't be acquired from a quick Google search. Most people already knew Whitney was using drugs prior to her meeting Bobby. Hell she was a backup singer for Chaka Khan at age 14/15 and everyone knows Chaka was no stranger to getting high. That chance meeting at the Soul Train awards was bunk. It was allegedly set up for those two to meet when the rumors of Whitney being in a lesbian relationship with Robin got louder. No mention of Whitney having to choose between Robin or Bobby in her life was a big miss as well as the fact that Whitney's so called peers partying it up while her body laid cold just a few feet above during the pre Grammy party yet the movie stated that Hollywood was rocked to its core after hearing of her death. It appears Cissy Houston had a stranglehold on what would/would not appear in this film. ymmv

This was exactly my feelings on this. The movie started with Whitney already as "Whitney." Why didn't we actually see how Clive was able to present her as a sophisticated pop singer, when she was a "round the way girl?" Why was there no mention of the early complaints that she was too pop (for a black, female singer), which was why she was able to crossover so well. I still don't know what her actual feelings about that sentiment were.

 

While I didn't necessarily expect the movie to explain why, or even know why, she was already into drugs before Bobby, the lack of reasoning drove me crazy. Even a "it's no big deal, everyone does it" would have worked.

 

And, seriously, how do you not touch on the total trainwreck her last few years were? How do you end with a epilogue on her death?

 

This movie had the same problem as the Aaliyah one. There was no real stance taken, so the movie ended up being a bunch of scenes without a cohesive narrative. I thought the vocals were well done and the acting was at least passable.

[yourpointis]

If Cissy had such a stranglehold, wouldn't she have made sure that Bobby Kristina got the part?

 

Angela Bassett stated they held open auditions but Bobby Kristina never auditioned. I guess she just wanted the part handed to her. Plus Cissy was against this movie being made and felt that it should have been a theatrical release rather than a made for tv type. 

Edited January 19, 2015 by yourpointis

[yourpointis]

This was exactly my feelings on this. The movie started with Whitney already as "Whitney." Why didn't we actually see how Clive was able to present her as a sophisticated pop singer, when she was a "round the way girl?" Why was there no mention of the early complaints that she was too pop (for a black, female singer), which was why she was able to crossover so well. I still don't know what her actual feelings about that sentiment were.

 

While I didn't necessarily expect the movie to explain why, or even know why, she was already into drugs before Bobby, the lack of reasoning drove me crazy. Even a "it's no big deal, everyone does it" would have worked.

 

And, seriously, how do you not touch on the total trainwreck her last few years were? How do you end with a epilogue on her death?

 

This movie had the same problem as the Aaliyah one. There was no real stance taken, so the movie ended up being a bunch of scenes without a cohesive narrative. I thought the vocals were well done and the acting was at least passable.

 

 

There were some minor rumblings within the black community regarding Whitney being a sellout with her music and this caused her some concern but no mention was made of it; atleast not to my recollection. Clive didn't even want Whitney to dance during her performances which led to people speculating that she couldn't. Personally I didn't think Whitney had much rhythm but that never stopped me from enjoying her music. There are videos floating around YouTube with all this info so why was it a problem touching upon these subjects in the movie? 

[AgentRXS]

I finally watched the whole thing and I agree that Yaya didn't have enough edge to portray Whitney, at least not at that time period. She did a perfect job of selling 80's America's Sweetheart Whitney but 90s Whitney. Early 90s Whitney was already starting to show that diva edge in her that Yaya couldn't sell. And quite frankly, I felt the actor who played Bobby sadly gave him more layers than exist in real life.

 

I just don't why Angela chose to title this "Whitney" when it felt like Whitney was a guest star in her own movie. Two hours was more than enough time to get in-depth but it was so superficial and one-note. Another slight nitpick I had was seeing the groupies wearing their hair in the modern long, wavy hairstyle, I don't remember anyone wearing wavy hair back then---it was either permed stick-straight, braided up, or in cute little bobs. But I was just a kid in the early 90s so I could be remembering wrong.

[truthaboutluv]

Didn't watch this or the Aaliyah movie but reading all your comments about both, clearly these Lifetime people needed to watch What's Love Got To Do With It and see how you do a biopic right. Then again, I guess the difference with What's Love Got To Do With It and the recent TLC movie as well is that they were both based on bios from the artist themselves and the producers worked with them to tell the story.

[Dejana]

Ratings news:
 

World Premiere of Original Movie Directed by Angela Bassett Delivers 4.5 Million Viewers, Becoming Lifetime’s Most-Watched Telecast since FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC

 

Special BOBBY BROWN: REMEMBERING WHITNEY Delivers 4.1 Million Viewers;

 

WHITNEY HOUSTON LIVE: HER GREATEST PERFORMANCES Pulls in 3.2 Million Total Viewers

 

Whitney also struck a chord among social media, where it was the most tweeted-about program for the day and Lifetime’s second most tweeted-about program ever (source: Nielsen, 1/17/15).  In search, Whitney Houston ranked number one on Google Trends for the day.

 

Expect Lifetime to churn out more terrible biopics!

Edited January 20, 2015 by Dejana

[aradia22]

 

I finally watched the whole thing and I agree that Yaya didn't have enough edge to portray Whitney, at least not at that time period. She did a perfect job of selling 80's America's Sweetheart Whitney but 90s Whitney. Early 90s Whitney was already starting to show that diva edge in her that Yaya couldn't sell. And quite frankly, I felt the actor who played Bobby sadly gave him more layers than exist in real life.

Eh. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. The movie was so disjointed and the script gave her so little to do that she didn't really have the opportunity to sell us a version of Whitney that wasn't just madly in love with Bobby. Imagine that this wasn't a biopic and that it was just a movie. We know so little about this character beyond things dropped haphazardly into the dialogue. There's so little "show" and only slightly more "tell." 

[aradia22]

I got around to watching the Clive Davis Whitney Live thing. Seriously, why didn't they just let him have creative control? Sure, we'd have gotten a sanitized version of her life but it would have been more entertaining.

[kassa]

While I didn't necessarily expect the movie to explain why, or even know why, she was already into drugs before Bobby, the lack of reasoning drove me crazy. Even a "it's no big deal, everyone does it" would have worked.

 

 

The first sight of drugs was at her birthday, and her brother handed her the coke as she walked by, right?  I always thought her brother got her on drugs, and that was the story the Houstons tried to suppress -- trying to pass the blame to Bobby Brown being her downfall. I seem to recall Oprah talking to the brother and him weeping about it.   So I think it was one of those things, like the Robin relationship, that was there for those who were already aware of the story, but not necessarily obvious if you weren't.  

And, seriously, how do you not touch on the total trainwreck her last few years were? How do you end with a epilogue on her death?

 

 

On WWHL, Angela said the goal was to show the seeds of how she ended up where she ended up, not necessarily to follow her there.  So it was more about showing her (and Bobby) climbing aboard that train.

 

I have to admit a soft spot for Bobby.  I was a Whitney fan at the time but aside from New Edition didn't know his stuff.  However, seeing him on reality shows through the years, I actually kind of like him.  I do think that there's an essentially decent and kind person there.  Messed up catastrophically, of course, but essentially good at heart.

[CaughtOnTape]

And yeah right, Whitney just "happened to keep getting filmed". No, what happened was Bravo only picked it up because of Whitney. No one was interested in Bobby without Whitney. And CrackedOut!Whitney in all her drug-addled glory was ratings gold.

 

After watching this movie, I was kind of shocked about all the things I did not know about her.  I had no idea she was into drugs before Bobby Brown.  I also didn't know she was ghetto.  I was a teenager when she hit her peak and to me, she was the sophisticated diva with the voice of an angel.

However, she always struck me as the type of woman who wasn't swayed to do anything.  If she did drugs, Bobby didn't "get her into it" or exacerbate the problem.  She did it because that's what she wanted to do.  No one told her to do shit.  And she pretty much stated that in her Oprah interview after she left him.  

 

I'm more inclined to believe Bobby when he states that she just showed up when they were filming.  IIRC the times she was on the show were weird.  Weren't they in a restaurant or something and she was yelling at people?  I mean, sure Bravo didn't stop recording at that point but I don't think his intent on the show was to showcase her.  

What I do not believe is his claims that he wasn't abusive.  

I never saw Bobby as the villain in their relationship though.  Mostly because of what I stated above.  He wasn't the villain, but he wasn't blameless either.  They just seemed to be two people who couldn't get their shit together.  

 

I think he genuinely loved her and he still does.  I've never seen him speak ill of her or try to push blame.  Mostly just stated things as he saw them, which were probably delusional but I never got a malicious vibe out of him.

Edited January 22, 2015 by CaughtOnTape

[kassa]

Finally caught the tail end of this last night and can't imagine what Bobbi Kristina was thinking.  What part of this did she want a part of, exactly?  I mean, aside from its dubious quality as a movie, it wasn't exactly a loving portrayal of Whitney, no matter how many times they mentioned how amazing a voice she had.  Did Bobbi really want to capture her mom banging her dad?  Fighting with him and then diving for the coke?  Walking in on him banging the nightclub pickup?  Fighting with her grandmother?  

Edited January 23, 2015 by kassa

[AgentRXS]

 

I'm more inclined to believe Bobby when he states that she just showed up when they were filming.  IIRC the times she was on the show were weird.  Weren't they in a restaurant or something and she was yelling at people?  I mean, sure Bravo didn't stop recording at that point but I don't think his intent on the show was to showcase her.

CaughtOnTape, After watching the interview, I went to Youtube and rewatched a few BBB episodes and found a trailer for an unaired Season 2 of the reality show:

 

The trailer for the 2nd season showed more of the extended Brown clan and very little Whitney. Bravo didn't pick it up.

Seeing how Bravo is handling the trainwreck that is Kim Richards on Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills, I absolutely believe they were 100% devoted to exploiting Whitney's downfall for ratings. She's in every episode and the camera is focused on her more than him at all times.

 

I loved  Whitney (despite her faults)  growing up (The Bodyguard soundtrack was my first CD I ever owned) and followed her through her interviews, the tabloids, and the reality show. Whitney may have had hood in her and was a coke user, but Whitney and Bobby both admitted at various times that both their habits got worse during the marriage, so ultimately these two were toxic for each other. Who knows how her life would have been different had she married, say, Eddie Murphy instead. 

 

Also, more inconsistencies with Bobby's "13 year sober" comment :

;

 

Bobby Brown is full of shit.

[luckyroll3]

Also, more inconsistencies with Bobby's "13 year sober" comment :

;

 

Bobby Brown is full of shit.

Yeah.  2007 is not 13 years ago.  I guess the drugs disrupted his ability to do simple math.

[Dancingjaneway]

So thanks to my insomnia I happened to catch part of the movie. I probably shouldn't even call it a movie because it was a joke. Also it should have been titled the Bobby Brown Story or Bobby + a lil bit of Whitney. Not only was the casting horrible(the mother looked like an older Mary J Blige and so much so that I joked that during the miscarriage scene she was going to sing "Not Gon' Cry" to Whitney.) Why did we need to know that Bobbys friend Steve got shot? What does that have to do with Whitney? If your doing a Bobby bio pic that would make sense because that's supposed to be his "turning point". This movie made her look ridiculous and glossed over the fact that she worked her ass off for everything and everyone. Where do you think Bobby got his child support money from? The lip syncing was horrible and Yaya was in no way like Whitney. I loved Whitney but she had no rhythm and Yaya clearly looked like she had rhythm. Yaya did a few little things that Whitney did but in no way mirrored her when onstage. Also Yaya may have looked like Whitney in the 80s but she didn't resemble her at all in the 90's. I think its funny that we are supposed to feel sorry for Bobby because hes being called Mr. Houston or people are asking her what it's like to kiss Kevin Costner. The guy was a douche plain and simple and no matter what Angela tells me she can stuff it. I really don't think Angela and Whitney were close and I don't think this was an accurate portrayal of Whitney. I think Angela took whatever Whitey told her at times (whether she was high or not) and just pieced it together. To me the only viable source when it comes to Whitney is Robyn. She knew Whitney before the modeling contract and she was by her side til her death. This movie reduced Whitney to a whiny, drug addled, competent performer when in real life she was a phenom who worked her ass off to keep her fans happy and those around her happy. There was a sadness to Whitneys life that this film missed entirely, there was a sass to Whitney that this movie missed entirely, there was a sens of humor to Whitney that this movie missed entirely. I can see the family not being ok with the film(although I think it has more to do with money I'm looking at you Pat Houston) because it isn't about Whitney. In the end it is all about making the viewer feel bad for Bobby and saying "this is a REAL biopic because we didn't gloss over her drug use".  Basically this movie showed Whitney as a horrible drug user wrapped in a pretty package and that wasn't all Whitney was. Angela did a horrible job and really needs to take a step back and realized that she did her "friend" a disservice. 

[ZaldamoWilder]

He didn't say that he didn't do coke. He said that he wasn't fond of doing it to often. Not that he didn't indulge at all. I think that point was to illustrate that Whitney did drugs before Bobby.

 

 

The first sight of drugs was at her birthday, and her brother handed her the coke as she walked by, right?  I always thought her brother got her on drugs, and that was the story the Houstons tried to suppress -- trying to pass the blame to Bobby Brown being her downfall. I seem to recall Oprah talking to the brother and him weeping about it.   So I think it was one of those things, like the Robin relationship, that was there for those who were already aware of the story, but not necessarily obvious if you weren't.

 

Attesting to both of these.  I went to college with Gary (weeping brother). Oddly enough, Evelyn Champagne King's brother too lol.  Anyway, I don't possess the knowledge to say when she became addicted but she was experienced before meeting Bobby.

 

I have to admit a soft spot for Bobby.  I was a Whitney fan at the time but aside from New Edition didn't know his stuff.  However, seeing him on reality shows through the years, I actually kind of like him.  I do think that there's an essentially decent and kind person there.  Messed up catastrophically, of course, but essentially good at heart.

 

 

Girl?   Ok, now I feel like I can admit that their series made me feel like her behavior made him look like the sane one.  Lol.

 

On WWHL, Angela said the goal was to show the seeds of how she ended up where she ended up, not necessarily to follow her there.  So it was more about showing her (and Bobby) climbing aboard that train.

 

Man but this was a missed opportunity.   How bout this for irony, Angela was the star of a pretty good movie that covered the span of a music legend's life, entirely from her perspective, without leaving the audience feeling cheated.  It can be done.    I don't know, budget, editing, I think if it's not all there don't give us the dollar store version of things, we deserved better than that.   There really were so many facets to her personality, even in terms of her physical charisma alone that weren't attempted.  Poutworthy. 

[AyeshaTheGreat]

So I watched this movie 1 and a half times.  I saw it a week after it premiered yet I did not hear any press/reviews.  As stated already, this was bad. Real bad. And that bad meaning bad, not bad meaning good.  Whitney & Bobby, Whitney Loves Bobby or Bobby and Her. Any of these titles are a better description of the movie than Whitney.  

 

I feel like I was misled from the beginning when the first performance I saw was a Bobby Brown performance.  And they didn't care when they were casting BeBe and CeCe.

 

I'd rather have a discussion about With This Ring. Lifetime seems to do original dramas better than biopics.

[funkopop]

So I watched this movie 1 and a half times.  I saw it a week after it premiered yet I did not hear any press/reviews.  As stated already, this was bad. Real bad. And that bad meaning bad, not bad meaning good.  Whitney & Bobby, Whitney Loves Bobby or Bobby and Her. Any of these titles are a better description of the movie than Whitney.  

 

I feel like I was misled from the beginning when the first performance I saw was a Bobby Brown performance.  And they didn't care when they were casting BeBe and CeCe.

 

I'd rather have a discussion about With This Ring. Lifetime seems to do original dramas better than biopics.

 

I'm so mad about that imposter they scrapped off the street and tried to pass for CeCe Winans.  Just leave them alone if they weren't going to try its not like they touched on their history.

Edited January 27, 2015 by funkopop

[luckyroll3]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but Bobbi Kristina was found non-responsive in a tub this weekend, and is now in a coma.  

 

https://www.yahoo.com/music/s/bobbi-kristina-browns-family-reportedly-203100561.html

[Brooklynista]

I know sources are blaming the release of this movie for Bobbi's trouble, but I'm sad to say I felt this was a long time coming.