Whitney: Can I Be Me (2017)

Don't Believe the Hype

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

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.

I've never been a fan of Whitney Houston and would probably admit that my least favourite song of all time is her nostrils-flaring, overblown version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You". In my opinion too she also helped usher in a whole train of over-singing, pretentious divas like Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Britney Spears et.al whose too-perfect voices exhibit all the emotion and soul of a fridge. But you don't have to be a fan to be interested in her tragic life story, which like other pop icons of the era, like George Michael, Prince and Michael Jackson saw her life end way too early.This documentary purports to tell her life story as she's groomed from being the talented young daughter of tough-mum, gospel singer Cissy Houston and her doting dad into the all-conquering pop star of the mid 80's with an entourage that would put Elvis Presley to shame. Inevitably and sadly, it seems clear to me that these self-interested hangers-on, including her temperamental party-loving husband, R and B singer Bobby Brown, childhood best friend and P.A. Robyn and by the end, even her old dad are clearly milking Whitney the cash cow for all they can get even while professing undying love and devotion to her. With friends like these, as the saying goes...Houston herself comes off as a talented kid flung into superstardom too early, struggling to cope with, as she says herself, the fame that it brings. It certainly doesn't help that none of her nearest and dearest, from her unnaturally cold mother, to bad-influence hubby Brown seem to either know or care that she's spiralling downwards out of control and even the presence of her young daughter Bobbi, whose life also ended in similarly tragic circumstances a few years later, couldn't turn Whitney round.Much of the film footage seems to derive from an access-all-areas tour of the singer's in 1999, still a long time from her eventual death in 2012, but even then the signs of strain and her addiction to drugs are becoming evident. It's sad to compare the wide-eyed stardom of the still-clean young girl just embracing stardom with her much older run-down later self trying to cope with her own life style. For me the most shocking image was that of the detritus of the drug-taking paraphernalia in the dressing room of the hotel room where she died in her bathtub. Naturally everybody here only has words of adoration for her singing ability with one of her acolytes equating her voice to being like "God in the room" and yet she struggled to gain acceptance from her black audience who considered her sound too pop, by which of course they mean too white - as witness their booing of her at an awards ceremony, prompting her to go more R and B with future albums which failed to hit the commercial heights of her earlier releases.As the demises of the other superstars mentioned above makes only too clear, it truly does seem to be lonely at the very top and even if I left this movie appreciating Whitney Houston's music not one bit more, I certainly felt some sympathy for the waste of a young talent, long before its time.

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!

What an absolutely heartbreaking story. A beautiful soul with the voice of a gospel angel who lost herself and nobody could do anything to prevent this tragedy. This fairly short documentary looks at Whitney's early years, her rise to fame and the later chaotic times. Her family and those closest to her are shown as both supportive and damaging. Whitney became almost a trademark, a whitened commodity which provided those closest to her with careers and success. It's a heck of a responsibility on one person's shoulders. Along with that came the huge intrusion of fame and living one's life in a goldfish bowl. The drugs and alcohol, i guess, became a way of escaping and switching off from the merry go round of publicity and performance? The documentary shows private and public footage spanning 40yrs of Whitney's life. A lot is focused on the dynamics between Whitney, her family, Robyn and Bobby. Robyn's departure from Whitney's scene was regarded by some as the most damaging loss to Whitney and her well being. Her life spiralled downwards after this with drugs and family arguments. The ex bodyguard had been very aware of the situation and had flagged his concerns to the family. He had hoped that the arrival of their daughter, Bobbi Christina, would focus the couple's minds on their child's welfare. It didn't, they continued to self destruct. I remember when the news broke about Whitney's drug problems. a lot of blame was placed on Bobby Brown. He was the street and Whitney was a good girl being led astray. The documentary shows this wasn't the case. Whitney's image was, like her voice, beautiful and pure. I believe that image of her was damaging. It protected her in ways which enabled her to continue along the self destructive path. Rumours of her drug problems were never taken seriously. If they had, she may have faced a much earlier prod? Perhaps the outcome would've been different? The documentary, for me, isn't a morality tale. It highlights the huge problems faced by one person when catapulted into stardom. Fame demands the person to be the image created which is often far removed from the individual.