User reviews

The stage curtains open ...

I just finished watching and reviewing the other documentary on Whitney Houston simply titled "Whitney" (2018) - and felt compelled to watch this one as well. I think the aforementioned documentary was better made and more detailed. But what I really appreciated about this one was the concert footage, and the behind-the-scenes / backstage footage as well.

When Whitney came off stage and went to the make-up/hair booth to catch a breather, and I saw the tears in her eyes and the drain and toll it was all taking on her, my heart broke for her. She really did pour everything she had into her singing, emotionally, physically and spiritually. And then she managed, somehow, to get it together in time to go back out on stage and finish the show.

There is just so much that went wrong in Whitney's life. Some blame Bobby Brown, others her Mom, others her Dad, others Robyn, and still yet others the time she was living in and what was socially acceptable and not acceptable. I guess I'm one who believes it was a combination and culmination of all of the above. I am also one who believes that we are all better for having had her in our lives, in whatever respect that may be.

I enjoyed this documentary. It was honest, fair and presented in an unbiased way. It is worth watching, if only to remember the heart of gold that Whitney always had - even during her inner conflict and pain. She always had that.

Nick Broomfield tends to make controversial documentaries. He usually turns up with a camera and a boom mike and ensures chaos unfolds.

Whitney: Can I Be Me is a departure from Broomfield's usual documentary style. Using archive footage as well as interviewing some people who worked or were close to Whitney we see a person who came up from gospel singing and crossed over to pop and made it big in the USA and around the world.

In 1992 when she got an acting role in The Bodyguard, her profile went to the stratosphere. The film was a commercial hit, the songs became best sellers. Whitney's cover of I Will Always Love You has become an enduring hit.

Yet in 1992 she also married singer Bobby Brown despite some years of rumours about her sexuality. Brown was riding high as a pop star at the time, the general consensus was this was a union that would not last.

The trouble was it led to Houston going on a destructive path. Keen to hide her sexuality, wanting a child, her conflict with her and her family's deep religious convictions. Houston increasingly found solace in drugs as Brown and Houston engaged in wild living, he was also having affairs and she also had her own special friend in Robyn Crawford.

Undoubtedly this is a sad documentary. A life wasted and cut short. We see footage of another documentary that was shot in 1999 which followed Whitney in her last major world tour. After that her recording output declined, so did her voice but her erratic behaviour increased.

I think Broomfield himself liked her, hence a rather respectful approach. As her long term bodyguard commented, Whitney could had been saved but those around her were not interested in keeping her off drugs.

At one point in my life, Whitney was the woman with the voice that made me long to be a singer. I absolutely idolized her. Her struggles with drug addiction was so disappointing to me, as was her death as a result of that struggle.

For me, this was an extremely honest, eye opening documentary that made me both sad and angry. We were always lead to believe Bobby was who got her into drugs. Finding out that she'd been doing drugs since she was a child - in my opinion - is a game changer. And the fact that her family took massive advantage of, and controlled, her, all the while enabling her addiction is just absolutely sickening. As for her relationship with Robyn, it's a damn shame the relationship couldn't have been what it should've been able to be.

For those who gave low scores on this documentary... Sometimes the truth isn't pretty. It can be ugly. It can be hard to hear. Sometimes it's just downright sad. It doesn't make it wrong to tell the story. In fact, sometimes it makes it more important for the story to be told.

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.

We got the perfection with the bumps. I found this to be very respectful and I appreciated it greatly. What a fantastic talent who was a woman-- human. Gone too soon, like far too many others.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

When world famous recording superstar Whitney Houston died from a drug overdose in February 2012, it sent the showbiz world into chaos and had everyone talking. Director Nick Broomfield examines her life leading up to her death, from her upbringing in the slums of the ghetto, where she first began experimenting with drugs, but also discovered her amazing, soulful voice, that would lead to her conquering the world with her singing, where she harmonised it singing in the choir in the local evangelical church. When she first hit the big time, she first experimented with her sexuality with assistant Robyn Crawford, before settling down with r n' b singer Bobby Brown, which sadly lead to a downward spiral of drink and drugs that ruined it all.

If there are many things Broomfield's documentary misses out on, one salient point it does raise is how unhappy Whitney apparently was with the manufactured, fuzzy commercial pop she was made to sing by her record company, designed to appeal to the mainstream white suburban America that was apparently more likely to buy the records, rather than stuff that was more grounded in her roots, with no one wanting her to become 'the female James Brown.' While these were the tunes that made her famous, it's disconcerting to know she felt so little of it behind the scenes. As if out of some weird respect for this, Broomfield brushes over most of her early back catalogue, and musically, focuses on her 1992 cover of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, from the hit motion picture The Bodyguard.

Another touchy subject that has never received much attention before is her rumoured bisexuality, which is sparingly explored here in the early stages, but what's more revealing is the disdain for such things that exists among, or did exist among, the black community in America at the time, and if Whitney wasn't spurned by her fans or wider society, she would have been by those closer to her. Running under the two hour mark, it's hard not to surmise that Broomfield may have had a lot of missed opportunities, and stuff he neglects to explore or delve into that could have added more substance to the proceedings, and given it a more interesting edge.

It all feels very similar to a lot of what has already been documented about Whitney's personal/private life in TV documentaries and such, and at this late stage it's hard not to feel like you're seeing stuff you've already seen. But it's still a fairly well made and focused documentary of a cultural icon. ***

I saw this at the Sydney Film Festival where both showings for this documentary were sold out.

The documentary is a mixed bag. It is at times insightful, at times exploitative and sensationalist, and at other times thrilling to see Whitney performing in concert and seeing her backstage.

There are a few concert footage songs and they are amazing! Even Whitney singing in her hotel room is amazing. This is footage from her 1999 "My Love Is Your Love" tour, showing concert and backstage footage, and life on the road with some of her crew, including husband Bobby Brown and her best friend Robyn Crawford. This glimpse into her life is interesting and gives some rare insight.

The rest of the film is largely interviews with people who worked with Whitney, such as her bodyguard, hairdresser, and band members etc., and it is spliced with footage that Whitney fans most likely have already seen but others probably haven't.

The documentary wouldn't be much without the concert footage and it is lucky to have it. That is where we see and hear Whitney's music. The most interesting part is actually seeing Whitney. Other footage they could get of Whitney is from shows like MTV or the American Music Awards.

The talking head interviews are with people who knew Whitney and they provide their own opinions. They are ultimately their own opinions. It is up to the viewer to decide whether they believe them or not. But they did work with and know Whitney to some extent. Their opinions range from their thoughts on her husband Bobby, to her sexuality, to her family, and to drugs.

The cinema audience I was with applauded at the end.

The most I got out of it was the concert footage performances, what there was of it. It was fantastic to see and hear on the big screen. I could've watched 2 hours of that.

I do feel I have more of an idea of Whitney and her life as an artist and public figure after watching this.

Ultimately, though, what stays with you is the music. The performances. Whitney.

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!

Wasn't expecting this to be a happy watch, but I really didn't know just how sad Whitney Houston's life was. It was a powerful and generally respectful and even-handed documentary look at her life.

I don't expect it would have much appeal to her fans or those who know a lot about her, because it's a pretty straightforward summary, and structured in the way you'd expect.

There's a biopic coming out about Houston which is going to be difficult. If they don't hold back, it's going to distress and depress many viewers. But if they sugarcoat her life and ignore the dark times, that's going to be dishonest and maybe even disrespectful. Good luck to the makers I guess - the film's completed, so it'll be interesting to see the reaction to it when it's released.

My heart felt so heavy after watching this. As talented as she was people who were supposed to be closest to her did NOT love her unconditionally. I've always known that fame often marginalizes people's lives but never really came to a deeper understanding and a greater empathy for how isolated and alone someone famous can become. I grew up with Whitney playing on the radio, bought her albums and saw her live in the early 90s. She worked her voice like an olympic athlete and was all that on stage - unbeatable really. But to have such a diametrically opposite life off stage and to die so young is truly a tragedy. The fame was useless. I'm only left to say that this story teaches all of us very important things about love, life and success.

There is a lot of backstage footage here, maybe too much, but it portrays Whitney Houston as a lot more sassy and intelligent and complex than her public image. She was publicly marketed as a perfect pop princess, so it is not surprising that she rebelled against that. One theory is that drugs were a way of dealing with the pressure and also the film talks about how she wanted to stay with husband Bobby Brown under any circumstances. The doco is much kinder than the McDonald doco on Brown. The passages about her best friend Robin Crawford try hard to grasp the nature of their relationship, but fail. I lost interest in the film about two-thirds of the way through. So it is not that great.

Being a big fan I could not wait to watch this special. But it was anything but special. From the moment it starts it is a man talking about Whitney Houston's life and achievements with photos of her flashing in the background. If you have ever watched TV or picked up a magazine then you already know everything this show has to offer.

I really don't see why this was given such a low rating. The documentary was done very tastefully. We all know Whitney had a drug problem but they didn't try to smear her legacy by showing all of negative things that were going on. I've watched many specials before and after she died but there were things in this documentary that I had never seen or heard before. That in itself says a lot. I would watch again one day. The biggest thing I'm left feeling is, I wish Bobbi Kris would have lived longer. Obviously I wish both of them would have but I can only imagine how much Whitney would have wanted Bobbi to flourish, be happy and live a wonderful life. It's all so very tragic. If you have ever been a fan of Whitney's I recommend you watch it. I don't think it's anything at all like the negative reviews are saying b

We all make our own choices in life, and I usually stand pretty firm that we are individually responsible for those (especially with adults several decades into their life). However, this documentary changed my perspective on this situation quite a bit. Due to a number of factors, (growing up with some family fame, early drug use with siblings, getting her own fame at a young age), she never really had a normal base foundation... So how was she ever supposed to recognize it in her later years? There's more to the story; It was quite compelling actually, and I encourage you to watch it. RIP Whitney.

Great music documentary. I'm not really a big fan of her music but a good music documentary is always worth a watch and this one didn't disappoint. Seems she was a lot more complex than I first imagined.

I'd like to thank Nick Broomfield for this respectful and real documentary about Whitney. Although Nick did not talk to Cissy, Robyn Crawford or Bobby Brown directly (they are there in archive footage), numerous people who were close to Whitney or close around her for years tell us the sad, sad story about this wonderful person and brilliant artist. Whitney was a great, generous and sweet woman and the documentary sadly shows the bitter truth. She was surrounded by people who cared for her money but not for her. Whitney was a product to make as much money as she could for the people around her. And to answer her important question; she could not be herself. It's very sad to see. For fans it's also great to see never before seen footage from Whitney's My Love Is Your Love world tour and the parts of performances you get to see, which are breathtaking. It's the first documentary that respects Whitney but also sheds light on her sad and frustrating story.

I can't believe she was treated the way she was. Her death (and that of her daughter) could have been prevented but except for a few people who really cared for her, nobody did a damn thing! Nobody cared about her while Whitney wanted to make everybody happy! It makes me so sad and angry. As a fan this is a must watch documentary but if you aren't a fan it's worth watching too.

The breathtaking performances you get to see should also tell us we should remember this woman for her breathtaking voice. She is the greatest singer this world has ever known and she has changed musical history. She had a huge influence on the music industry and she will always be one of it's greatest legends. Whitney was a true craftswoman who sang with every fiber of her body. She felt the music and all it's emotion like no other. The only little thing I missed was an entire performance of Whitney. I would have loved it to see an entire I Will Always Love You performance from her My Love Is Your Love world tour at the end of the documentary for example.

I will never forget you Whitney!

The documentary managed to tell a story of fame and struggle, but the fact that the whole truth wasn't said hurt the entire concept of the movie. One of the worst things about this is that Robyn never got a lot of screentime to say her part of the story. It has some beautiful footage that we have never seen before tho

Let me start by saying the 5,6 rating for this documentary is an absolute and disgraceful joke! This is the first real and honest documentary about Whitney, after she sadly passed away.

This is a documentary Whitney would have wanted! It portrayed her as a very nice, warm and spontaneous woman.

Many people who were close to her or close around her for many years tell their story. Cissy Houston, Bobby Brown and Robyn Crawford weren't a part of this documentary but to me, that wasn't a problem.

The people who were so close around her knew exactly what was going on. They all tell a very honest story. There is a lot of archive footage going with their stories, which only adds to what they all have to say.

Whitney's story is a sad and frustrating one that has everything to do with powerlessness. I won't tell more about the story, just watch the documentary for yourself, it's really worth it.

The footage from Whitney's My Love Is Your Love World Tour from 1999 has never been seen before. It is great to see for every Whitney fan.

The big bonus is the concert footage you get to see. Some breathtaking performances, although only parts, who will give you goosebumps. The behind the scenes and concert footage really adds a dramatic effect to the documentary.

Nick Broomfield did a great job in putting the stories and footage together.

Whitney was and always will be one of the giants in the music industry. Let's remember her for the sweet woman she was, and that voice, oh yes that voice..the best there ever was!

Whitney: Can I Be Me (2017)

*** (out of 4)

This controversial documentary takes a look at the life and death of Whitney Houston. Through archival interviews with her as well as her mother and new interviews with those closest to her, we see what eventually happened that led up to her death.

WHITNEY: CAN I BE ME is a good documentary but at the same time I can't help but say that I was a little disappointed with it. It really does seem as if this thing was butchered in the post-production as there's just something that really seems off. Director Nick Broomfield is usually spot on with his documentaries but Rudi Dolezal is also credited her as co-director so was there a difference between them on how to make this? I don't know but there's just something off here.

Some of the highlights of the film include some never before seen footage of a concert tour that Houston did. We get some great footage of her on the stage as well as behind-the-scenes where she leads everyone in getting ready. Moments like these are certainly great but often times the documentary looks over major portions of her career. I'm not sure why this was done but even her singing of the National Anthem, which is considered by many to be the greatest ever, isn't discussed.

The film has been accused of exploiting the singer but I'm not sure if that's true. In all honesty, it seems the film wanted to find out who was to blame for Houston dying of a drug overdose. We are told right from the start that Houston was from the ghetto and that the "princess" that was sold to the media was just something fake. We learn that she started doing drugs long before Bobby Brown came into the picture. We learn about previous drug overdoses that weren't known until know. We learn that the drug issue had been going on long before the public found out.

Is God to blame? Whiteny herself? Her mother? Did the pressure of Houston not being allowed to have a lesbian relationship cause the drug abuse? The pressure of fame? Was it Brown's cheating? The documentary likes to point a lot of fingers and there's no question that everyone gets a bit of the blame but to me the film wasn't hard enough on Houston and what eventually happened to her daughter is just covered in some text.

As for Brown, he is interviewed here but we really don't get too much out of him, which is too bad since his views would have been rather interesting. We do hear from a bodyguard who says he was fired for trying to get help for Houston. We basically learn that everyone knew Houston had a problem but no one wanted to do anything until it was too late.

As I said, WHITNEY: CAN I BE ME is a good film but it's still missing something that keeps it from being the definitive look at the singer.

"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 ****

Rudi Dolezal was born the same year as me, 1958, and I know his work very well, he's a veteran of documentaries about great bands and big musicians plus the creator of numerous musical clips. He made films about huge names like: Queen, The Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa, Falco, Sandra, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Can, Sarah Brightman, Bon Jovi, Scorpions, Bad Company, David Bowie, Michael Jackson. Also, Rudi Dolezal made "Freddie Mercury, the Untold Story" (2000), a documentary that I immediately thought about watching this film about Whitney Houston, because both documentaries give us less known details about two of the greatest singers in the world history, two huge talents, two unique voices, two tragic destinies. Here, we find out about Whitney that she was actually a drug addict since adolescence, that she was emotional unstable and bisexual. Like the great Mozart, who died even younger, both Whitney Houston and Freddie Mercury, were some giants of Music but, in their private life, very very fragile human beings and two self-destructive souls.