TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

moonspinner55 "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 ****

lambiepie-2 Let me be clear -- 'Whitney: Can I Be Me' is one documentary that I am sure will be one of many, and future movies and films that are all going to come out and present the perspectives of those who participate in them. For example, I have seen the Michael Jackson documentaries, etc., and they all keep coming because there were so many people around him that have different tales to tell, and were exposed to his life in different ways (from family to body guards to ticket sellers, etc.) that they feel their perspectives needed to be told. This documentary on Whiney Houston is similar to just one of those.In that, Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal have put together a very sad perspective on Whitney Houston told through those they interviewed and archival footage. Right there, it lets the viewer know it will not be complete nor told from those who need to be a part of this. It is not a concert film to celebrate Whitney's talent, but just a micro-one-sided telling of a world wide talent that met with tragedy. Some will feel that is exploitative because it doesn't fully address what it should, just the 'tragic parts' and I will agree that is a fair assessment.Whitney's fans will like the never-before-seen footage of Whitney in concert in Europe 13 years before her death, the backstage footage of seeing how much of a toll that can take on a performer as popular as Whitney, and getting glimpses of when she was happy being a friend, a mom, and wife. And with the interviews of the few that did speak, we see how that was all a heavy load and much to cope. That's the area it touches on about Whitney being Whitney.Then it veers into her trials, drug use, questions about her sexuality and how this all contributed towards her demise. In documentaries like this, many Whitney fans will feel as if the documentarian(s) are after the tabloidism of the subject, to kick the subject down after they are gone, get something cheap and tawdry released for ratings. Her fans know she had problems (She had a reality show which was never mentioned, for example). Is there a need for this documentary, then? Not a need, but a perspective that needs to be told, and they told it.Whitney was huge in the 80s and 90s, and I appreciated her talent very much. I do not think this is the "official documentary" that will be/should be done on Whitney Houston from those who were very close to her and would agree to sit down, look into a camera and discuss Whiney's life in their lives, and I would recommend that die-hard fans stay away from this since the focus is on her downfall and does feel heavy handed on that at times -- they should wait for the 'true'documentary to be done. I expect that it will. But this one is a 'blip' of her life, a very sad tragic telling that actually leaves more questions for fans and non-fans alike who may be interested than it answers.

nelozayn-76224 needs to rethink the choices of stick with material that somebody else wrote . This is not entertaining at all. After watching this I felt like Ace Ventura after he found out Einhorn was a man. Had to vomit, burn the clothes I was wearing, try to plunger the show out of my head, and just sat in the shower trying to wash this show away. So bad. So awful. Doesn't even deserve 1 star.please

letyloka-86226 timing and humanity are absent from this performance and her pretentious and relentless charade of worldly defeatism doesn't work. Being grossbut there has to be some context, some originality and some relative experience for the viewer to engage with. I'd have to seriously question the professional judgment of the team that saw this past the ideas ! I'm assuming that they are all her friends or they divvied up her paycheck! How is this person a household name? Thankfully, nobody I know or am connected with openly admits to liking her unique talent for attention seeking!This is an epic fail!