Whitney (2015 film) explained

Genre:Biographical drama
Based On:Whitney Houston and
Bobby Brown
Director:Angela Bassett
Starring:Yaya DaCosta
Arlen Escarpeta
Yolonda Ross
Suzzanne Douglas
Theme Music Composer:RedOne
Wuff
Dan Sundquist
Travon Potts
Country:United States
Language:English
Producer:Larry Sanitsky
Kyle A. Clark
Lina Wong
Editor:Richard Comeau
Cinematography:Anastas N. Michos
Runtime:88 mins
Company:Sanitsky Company
SilverScreen Pictures
Network:Lifetime

Whitney is a 2015 American biographical film directed by Angela Bassett based on American singer Whitney Houston (Yaya DaCosta) and her turbulent marriage to R&B artist Bobby Brown (Arlen Escarpeta) that premiered on Lifetime in North America on January 17, 2015.[1] Whitney received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with DaCosta's performance as Houston and Bassett's direction being praised but Escarpeta's casting and the film's accuracy being criticized. Bassett was nominated at the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film and at the Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Director in a Television Miniseries or Movie.[2]

The movie stars Yaya DaCosta as Houston, Arlen Escarpeta as Brown and Yolonda Ross as Houston's longtime friend and road manager Robyn Crawford. Whitney is set in a period of five years (1989 - 1994) when Houston was catapulted to worldwide success due to her film debut The Bodyguard and its subsequent soundtrack. Filming lasted 20 days, primarily occurring in Los Angeles and Santa Clarita, California.

Canadian R&B singer Deborah Cox performs all of Houston's vocals in the film, including "I Will Always Love You", "I'm Your Baby Tonight", "I'm Every Woman", "Jesus Loves Me" and "The Greatest Love of All". Additionally, songwriting/production team The Jackie Boyz performed Brown's vocals for "Every Little Step" in the Soul Train Awards scene.

Synopsis

In 1989, Whitney Houston (Yaya DaCosta) is a worldwide phenomenon and household name with two highly successful self-titled albums under her belt. She attends the 3rd Annual Soul Train Awards with her high school friend and road manager Robyn Crawford (Yolonda Ross), who is a lesbian. During a category in which Houston's name is booed by the audience, she later performs at the ceremony. It is here that she meets fellow R&B singer Bobby Brown and they begin a courtship shortly after, due to her being impressed with Brown's performance of "Every Little Step". In August 1989, Whitney invites Bobby to her lavish 26th birthday celebration, where Bobby discovers her abusing cocaine.

Whitney begins recording her third album I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), the relationship between her and Brown continues to blossom consistently, leading to a sexual relationship between the two. Unbeknownst to her, Brown is in a relationship with his girlfriend Kim, who had just given birth to his daughter. Just as Houston discovers this, she is left heartbroken and infuriated. Bobby later severs ties with Kim, and Whitney later manages to pull through and persevere in the already hectic relationship. Sometime later, Brown is unable to replicate the success of his album Don't Be Cruel, as his record label wants him to record a greatest hits compilation.

Whitney and Bobby continue to date for a number of years, with Brown proposing to her by late 1991, and the two are married by the summer of 1992. Around this time, Kevin Costner handpicks Houston to star in what will become her film debut The Bodyguard. Though she is initially reluctant, Bobby encourages her to proceed. While on the set of The Bodyguard, Houston suffers a miscarriage, causing her to become very sickly. Cissy visits and persuades Whitney to leave Bobby, but Whitney refuses.

Whitney struggles to keep up with fame and placate Bobby, whose career has taken a back seat to hers, as she continues to dabble with drug use after their daughter Bobbi Kristina is born. Soon after, The Bodyguard and its subsequent soundtrack becomes massively successful, leading Whitney to tour internationally for nearly two years.

The pressure continues to grow for both Whitney and Bobby, primarily Whitney, who continues to abuse drugs at the height of her stardom. Bobby deals with his situation similarly after losing his childhood friend Steve in gun violence.

Cast

Critical reception

Whitney has received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and holds a 62% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[3] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 54%, based on 17 reviews.[4]

Whitney received a total of 4.5 million viewers during its premiere.[5]

Accolades

AwardCategoryRecipient(s)Result
Black Reel AwardsOutstanding Director, TV Movie or Limited SeriesAngela Bassett[6]
Outstanding Actress, TV Movie or Limited SeriesYaya DaCosta
Directors Guild of America Awards, USAOutstanding Directing in Miniseries or TV FilmAngela Bassett[7]
Imagen AwardsBest Primetime Program: Special or Made-for-TV-MovieWhitney[8]
Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists GuildBest Contemporary MakeupMarietta Carter-Narcisse and Noreen Wilkie[9]
Best Contemporary Hair StylingEmanuel Millar and Rhonda O'Neal
NAACP Image AwardsOutstanding Writing in a Motion Picture, TelevisionShem Bitterman[10]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: First-Time Director Angela Bassett Defends Her Whitney Houston Biopic - ABC News. abcnews.go.com. 2015-02-14.
  2. Web site: Hipes . Patrick . January 13, 2016 . DGA Awards Nominations Set For TV & Documentaries . January 19, 2018 . Deadline Hollywood.
  3. Web site: Whitney. Rotten Tomatoes.
  4. Web site: Whitney (2015). Metacritic.
  5. Web site: Blas . Lorena . Lifetime's 'Whitney' lures 4.5 million viewers . USAToday . 2015-01-19 . 2022-11-27.
  6. Web site: 16th Annual Black Reel Award Nominations . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161016182500/http://blackreelawards.com/16th-annual-black-reel-award-nominations/ . 2016-10-16 . 2015-12-18.
  7. News: Tapley . Kristopher . January 12, 2016 . Alejandro G. Inarritu, Tom McCarthy, Adam McKay, George Miller, Ridley Scott Land DGA Nominations . January 12, 2016 . . en-US.
  8. Web site: Lowe . Kinsey . August 22, 2015 . 'McFarland, USA', George Lopez & Zoe Saldana Win At Imagen Awards . January 15, 2024 . Deadline Hollywood.
  9. Web site: Giardina . Carolyn . February 2, 2016 . Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards: The Winners List . January 15, 2024 . The Hollywood Reporter.
  10. Web site: February 4, 2022 . 47th NAACP Image Awards: The Complete Winners List . November 27, 2022 . . en-US.