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Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B

  • TV Movie
  • 2014
  • TV-PG
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
3.2/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
Alexandra Shipp in Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014)
Trailer 2 for Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B
Play trailer1:00
2 Videos
21 Photos
BiographyDramaMusic

The story of music and video star Aaliyah, whose life ended tragically in a 2001 plane crash in the Bahamas.The story of music and video star Aaliyah, whose life ended tragically in a 2001 plane crash in the Bahamas.The story of music and video star Aaliyah, whose life ended tragically in a 2001 plane crash in the Bahamas.

  • Director
    • Bradley Walsh
  • Writer
    • Michael Elliot
  • Stars
    • Alexandra Shipp
    • Christopher Jacot
    • Andy McQueen
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    3.2/10
    1.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Bradley Walsh
    • Writer
      • Michael Elliot
    • Stars
      • Alexandra Shipp
      • Christopher Jacot
      • Andy McQueen
    • 40User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos2

    Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B
    Trailer 1:00
    Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B
    Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B
    Trailer 1:05
    Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B
    Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B
    Trailer 1:05
    Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B

    Photos21

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    Top cast38

    Edit
    Alexandra Shipp
    Alexandra Shipp
    • Aaliyah Haughton
    Christopher Jacot
    Christopher Jacot
    • Ryan Nichols
    Andy McQueen
    Andy McQueen
    • Eric Ferrell
    Elena Juatco
    Elena Juatco
    • Press Member
    Elise Neal
    Elise Neal
    • Gladys Knight
    Clé Bennett
    Clé Bennett
    • R. Kelly
    Lyriq Bent
    Lyriq Bent
    • Barry Hankerson
    Morgan Kelly
    Morgan Kelly
    • Senior Label Exec
    Dewshane Williams
    Dewshane Williams
    • Derek Lee
    Rachael Crawford
    Rachael Crawford
    • Diane Haughton
    Jesse Omonudo
    Jesse Omonudo
    • Security Guard
    Izaak Smith
    Izaak Smith
    • Timbaland
    A.J. Saudin
    A.J. Saudin
    • Rashad Haughton (Older)
    Paulina 'Miel' Chmielecka
    Paulina 'Miel' Chmielecka
    • Record Executive
    Anthony Grant
    Anthony Grant
    • Damon Dash
    Kamaia Fairburn
    • Aaliyah (10-12)
    • (as Kamaia Fairburn-Grant)
    Jade Whitney
    Jade Whitney
    • Dancer
    Richard Walters
    • Show MC
    • Director
      • Bradley Walsh
    • Writer
      • Michael Elliot
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews40

    3.21.4K
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    Featured reviews

    1kimone-smith07

    What The "H" Was This?

    I did not like this movie very much. First of all, none of the actors in this movie looked like the real people, in some instances, Alexandra Shipp almost looked like Aaliyah, but I still believe that Lifetime could have chosen a better actress for such a role. Don't even get me started about the guy they presumed as R. Kelly, not only did he looked too thick, the man looked like he was tired and he looked NOTHING like the King of R&B! Then you've got this tall brown pretty boy wannabe gangster look-a-like that they chose for Damon Dash, PLEASE! Your network needs to fire the casting director of this movie. This movie was poorly done and I believe it was rushed. They did not even portrayed the relationship that Aaliyah had with with DMX which was much more of a value than what she had with Damon Dash. Honestly Lifetime, if you could not have handled a story as Aaliyah's better than this, I think you should NOT have taken up the responsibility of doing a movie like this for the Princess of R&B! This was an UTTER insult!
    2laneeset

    Massive Fail!

    Why make a movie about Aaliyah and not do it right. The actress portraying Aaliyah has a singing style that sounds like "pop" while Aaliyah's style is way more Hip/Hop-R&B. The actor portraying R. Kelly looks nothing like him, not even close, and it really bothers when these movies are made about blacks that greater care is not made to find the right actors to more accurately represent the people being portrayed. This production is a massive fail. Aaliyah was a fabulous singer and dancer, how could Lifetime attempt to make a movie about her life and exclude her hits and not include more dancing and singing in it? Her greatest hits are not even in this movie. How can this be? It gets 2 stars simply for attempting to pay homage to the late songbird who deserves so much better than this.
    2Sequoiab86

    Terrible someone needs to redo this movie

    I'm so mad at this movie. The transitions were terrible, she didn't perform her hit songs, they didn't show how much of an impact Timberland & Missy made on her career...... This movie was too small to portray her life. Also they needed to use her real voice. I'm a true fan of hers and if you didn't follow her very well then you would probably think this is a great movie. This truly disappoints me & I wish someone would redo her life. Don't bother watching it if you are a true fan because it will let you down. VH1, Debbie Allen , someone please, please don't let her legacy be minimized like this. The actress did not portray Aaliyah she should have really studied her, but she tried her best. Terrible production.
    1the_remixer08

    Oh, No. Just Oh, No

    It is rare, and I mean rare that I give a negative critique all the way through even through bad productions. I normally give even bad productions the benefit of the doubt. As a matter of fact, I have never even given a bad production a low scale like this. For the first time in HISTORY I have rated a movie a 1. Drumline 2 wasn't even this bad compared to this film. This was so, so disrespectful to Aaliya's legacy, and I'm just hoping and praying that Missy and Timbaland, whenever they feel they want to, will do this movie justice the way it is supposed to be done. The fact that they weren't even apart of this production, and the parents even said no to the production, why would you even waste your time writing and producing this garbage!? Not only that, you didn't even have the rights to put any of her best hits in the film, which is a HUGE part of Aaliya's story. If you're going to tell a story, tell it right. Don't tell it based on an unauthorized book and Wikpedia. The actors didn't even come close to matching the original people, and even though Ship was only the slightest exception, she did not do Aaliyah justice at all. It didn't seem like she even studied on how Aaliyah, spoke, how she moved or anything. The timeline of the story was even off, and most of the movie felt rushed. I feel really bad for those actors. They will never be able to live this one down because of someone's poor decision of greed and a buck. I'm just so upset. It's bad if Timbaland is even making a mockery out of you because you didn't listen in the first place to leave this story alone! smh....
    1rvillegas775

    A very disappointing movie

    Wendy Williams shoved this movie down our throats for weeks. It was awful! I didn't even finish watching it. Okay the girl that played her was pretty but that's about it. As for Elise who played Gladys Knight just confirmed she is a lousy actress. There were just so many things wrong with this movie. The guy that played R Kelly looked nothing like him. It was bad acting all around. Wendy Williams just shut up when you are endorsing a a project. Maybe you jinxed it. The character that played AAliyah did not seem confident in her role. It has to be chalked up to bad direction or just bad acting. It just didn't do Aaliyah justice.

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    Related interests

    Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, and Geraldine James in Gandhi (1982)
    Biography
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
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    Music

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Zendaya was first attached to star as Aaliyah but ended up giving up on the project, according to her, due to the lack of production value, complications with the music rights, and it not being handled delicately considering the situation (Aaliyah's family disapproval of the making of the film). Alexandra Shipp was chosen to take on the role instead.

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 15, 2014 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Aaliyah: La princesa del R&B
    • Production company
      • Aaliyah Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 28m(88 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 16:9 HD

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