view_and_review 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.

jc-osms I've never been a fan of Whitney Houston and would probably admit that my least favourite song of all time is her nostrils-flaring, overblown version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You". In my opinion too she also helped usher in a whole train of over-singing, pretentious divas like Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Britney Spears et.al whose too-perfect voices exhibit all the emotion and soul of a fridge. But you don't have to be a fan to be interested in her tragic life story, which like other pop icons of the era, like George Michael, Prince and Michael Jackson saw her life end way too early.This documentary purports to tell her life story as she's groomed from being the talented young daughter of tough-mum, gospel singer Cissy Houston and her doting dad into the all-conquering pop star of the mid 80's with an entourage that would put Elvis Presley to shame. Inevitably and sadly, it seems clear to me that these self-interested hangers-on, including her temperamental party-loving husband, R and B singer Bobby Brown, childhood best friend and P.A. Robyn and by the end, even her old dad are clearly milking Whitney the cash cow for all they can get even while professing undying love and devotion to her. With friends like these, as the saying goes...Houston herself comes off as a talented kid flung into superstardom too early, struggling to cope with, as she says herself, the fame that it brings. It certainly doesn't help that none of her nearest and dearest, from her unnaturally cold mother, to bad-influence hubby Brown seem to either know or care that she's spiralling downwards out of control and even the presence of her young daughter Bobbi, whose life also ended in similarly tragic circumstances a few years later, couldn't turn Whitney round.Much of the film footage seems to derive from an access-all-areas tour of the singer's in 1999, still a long time from her eventual death in 2012, but even then the signs of strain and her addiction to drugs are becoming evident. It's sad to compare the wide-eyed stardom of the still-clean young girl just embracing stardom with her much older run-down later self trying to cope with her own life style. For me the most shocking image was that of the detritus of the drug-taking paraphernalia in the dressing room of the hotel room where she died in her bathtub. Naturally everybody here only has words of adoration for her singing ability with one of her acolytes equating her voice to being like "God in the room" and yet she struggled to gain acceptance from her black audience who considered her sound too pop, by which of course they mean too white - as witness their booing of her at an awards ceremony, prompting her to go more R and B with future albums which failed to hit the commercial heights of her earlier releases.As the demises of the other superstars mentioned above makes only too clear, it truly does seem to be lonely at the very top and even if I left this movie appreciating Whitney Houston's music not one bit more, I certainly felt some sympathy for the waste of a young talent, long before its time.

Sober-Friend 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!

lokacroche This 'special' has been presented by someone who has been told that that fallen for it. It's like the chubby girl who has been told by her parents that the peach dress she's wearing looks great - and then when she wears it outside, still stubbornly believes that it looks great because her mum and dad are right and the rest of the world must be blind or something!