May 26, 2014 Whitney Houston Lifetime Movie - Family: She Deserves More Than a TV Movie! Whitney Houston's Family She Deserves More Than a TV Movie! 5/26/2014 1:00 AM PT. Jan 18, 2015 The Lifetime Movie 'Whitney' Carlos Battey, sings 'Every Little Step' as Arlen Escarpeta portrays Bobby Brown in the Biopic of Whitney. I have no rights to t.
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| Whitney | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Biographical drama |
| Based on | Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown |
| Written by | Shem Bitterman |
| Directed by | Angela Bassett |
| Starring | Yaya DaCosta Arlen Escarpeta Yolonda Ross Suzzanne Douglas |
| Theme music composer | RedOne Wuff Dan Sundquist Travon Potts |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Larry Sanitsky Kyle A. Clark Lina Wong |
| Cinematography | Anastas N. Michos |
| Editor(s) | Richard Comeau |
| Running time | 88 mins |
| Distributor | Lifetime Television |
| Release | |
| Original release | |
Whitney is a 2015 American biographical film directed by Angela Bassett based on American recording artist Whitney Houston and her turbulent marriage to R&B artist Bobby Brown that premiered on Lifetime in North America on January 17, 2015.[1]Whitney received mixed reviews from critics, with praise going to DaCosta's performance as Houston and Bassett's direction of the film but criticism of Escarpeta's casting and the film's accuracy.
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 in the worldwide success of her film debut The Bodyguard and its subsequent soundtrack. Filming took 20 days to shoot and was primarily filmed 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'. In addition, songwriting/production team The Jackie Boyz performed Brown's vocals for 'Every Little Step' in the Soul Train Awards scene.
Synopsis[edit]
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 (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 Whitney 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. It is around this time that Houston is hand picked by Kevin Costner to star in what will become her film debut The Bodyguard. Houston is reluctant at first, but is encouraged to film by her husband Bobby. 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 the birth of their daughter Bobbi Kristina. Soon after, The Bodyguard and its subsequent soundtrack becomes a massive success, leading Whitney to go on an international tour 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.
Critical reception[edit]
Whitney has received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and holds a 62% approval (certified 'fresh') rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[2] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 54, which indicates 'mixed or average' reviews, based on 17 reviews.[3]
Cast[edit]
- Yaya DaCosta as Whitney Houston
- Arlen Escarpeta as Bobby Brown
- Yolonda Ross as Robyn Crawford
- Suzzanne Douglas as Cissy Houston
- Mark Rolston as Clive Davis
- Wesley Jonathan as Babyface
- Reign Morton as Eddie Murphy
- Nafessa Williams as Kim
- James A. Watson, Jr. as John Houston
- Deborah Lacey as Dionne Warwick (credited as 'Award Presenter')
- Cornelius Smith Jr. as Michael Houston
- Tongayi Chirisa as Gary Houston
- Billy 'Sly' Williams as Pastor Marvin Winans
- Saundra McClain as Aunt Bae
- Deborah Joy Winans as CeCe Winans
- Timothy Bowman Jr. as BeBe Winans
- Hampton Fluker as Steve
References[edit]
- ^'First-Time Director Angela Bassett Defends Her Whitney Houston Biopic - ABC News'. abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
- ^[1]
- ^[2]
External links[edit]
- Whitney on IMDb
Whitney Houston Lifetime Movie Watch
Angela Bassett makes her directorial debut in the biopic starring Yaya DeCosta as the iconic singer, with Deborah Cox's interpretation of her hits.
Lifetime's Whitney Houston biopic airs Saturday night, with Yaya DeCosta portraying the iconic songstress and Arlen Escapeta playing her husband, R&B star Bobby Brown.
The controversial telepic — made without the participation of the late singer's family or the use of her original recordings — also marks Angela Bassett's directorial debut. Rather than tackle the entirety of Houston's life, the project zooms in on her career highs and marriage, and makes no mention of her death in either the movie or postscript. Houston's songs were recorded by Grammy-nominated performer and friend, Deborah Cox, and the film is scored by RedOne.
See what top critics are saying about Whitney:
The Hollywood Reporter'sAllison Keene praises DeCosta's portrayal — 'The makeup and wardrobe department did an exceptional job recreating Houston's looks on DaCosta, who nails her mannerisms, particularly when it comes to a performance of 'I Will Always Love You' — and her chemistry with Escapeta. 'The movie does not shy away from emotional portrayals of the couple's drug abuse, codependency and personal tragedy, nor does it let either one off the hook when it comes to mistakes and bad decisions. ... Together, there is a palpable allure. And Bassett, using sound instincts, also films them in several extremely intimate, lavishly sensual scenes.' Additionally, Bassett's direction 'also keeps the camera moving, swirling and active, except when it alights and lingers on DaCosta's face. Bassett also makes the right choice to allow songs to play out fully, ... but quick editing jumps and the occasional tour wardrobe montage also mange to keep the pace from languishing.'
Keene also notes that while Cox's covers 'are sometimes gorgeously close to the mark, they don't (and can't) quite fully capture Houston's naturally showstopping cadence. Still, there are moments when Cox's singing and DaCosta's mannerisms add up to an eerily accurate portrayal of Houston, and in certain scenes, viewers may feel as swept up as the enraptured fans onscreen.' Of its ending, 'its finale feels abrupt, but the decision to focus just on Houston's most meteorically successful years — where, for a little while, she probably was happy — makes Whitney a fairly flattering portrait that is only lightly a cautionary tale.'
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The New York Times'Jon Caramanica says, 'For two hours, this film cherry-picks moments of Houston’s life — some recognizable, some not — and stitches them together into a perplexing, not altogether comforting quilt. ... It feels as if it were conceived and executed from afar. What’s more, this is a biopic that’s skeptical of its subject, that at times appears to be working actively against her interests,' as Houston is not often the hero of scenes. The hourlong interview, Bobby Brown: Remembering Whitney, with Brown and journalist Shaun Robinson that will air after Whitney 'is far more riveting than the film that occasions its existence.' Still, 'DaCosta fluently mimics Houston’s gestural tics, the quick neck-snaps and chin-juts that she brought to her performances. And Houston’s vocals are delivered gloriously by Cox.'
Whitney Houston Lifetime Movie Cast
Los Angeles Times'Robert Lloyd notes, 'Though it works in parts and pieces — were you to be shown any random scene out of context, you might imagine a better picture — it doesn't add up to much. ... It's a better-than-average Lifetime film — and at its boudoir heart, it is very much a Lifetime film.' As the title character, 'DaCosta is remarkably convincing lip-syncing to Cox's re-recordings of Houston's hits. But though DaCosta and Escarpeta each creates a sympathetic character — at times, the picture feels meant to make you forget you ever saw Being Bobby Brown — they lack chemistry. For all the script insists otherwise, their love, and thus the film about it, feels something less than necessary.'
Newsday'sVerne Gay explains, 'It's full of warmth and passion and an unspoken sense that, three years after Houston's death, what most fans probably want to remember, or do remember, is the Houston life force. That style, and grace, and elegance, and beauty ... and especially that joy. ... What Bassett has done is to write a love letter to Houston and Brown. Escarpeta's Brown subverts the prevailing public image of him in every scene — here, he's a gentle soul with a good heart, who wants to do right by his children and Whitney. ... Bassett refuses to cast blame for the troubles, and we're left with a portrait that has plenty of love — just not a whole lot of insight or edge.'
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The Boston Globe'sSarah Rodman states, 'One day a great film might be made about Houston’s life, but Whitney is not it. While neither overly salacious or reverent, Whitney — which focuses almost exclusively on her relationship with Brown — lacks dynamism in telling the tale of a very dynamic life, and falls short of illuminating anything about Houston that both diehard fans and casual observers of pop culture didn’t already know. ... Cox is a gifted vocalist in her own right, and DaCosta is an apt mime. But that’s also exactly what Whitney feels like: faking it. And for a film about an artist revered for her voice, that approach is woefully low-rent.'