timjohnson-10201 As has been our practice over the past years, Diane and I went to the movie on Essex and left sometime later with the same opinion about this film; it was about a remarkable talent. I was not sure upon entering the cinema if my impression, Bobby Brown was responsible for the drug addiction that killed her was correct. We both thought that the film was fair; however, we both felt that the movie play ed too much on the negatives of her addiction. About mid-way through the film, the viewer was submerged by the negatives. I did, however, go from thinking that Brown should die for his actions in denying the world's greatest singer a continued life. Preferably, after the film, We saw that Whitney virtually suicided and Brown greased the slide because she did most of it herself from an age before she even knew him.Diane and I thought the movie was absorbing with a little too much emphasis on the downward towards the peak of her career. See it if you were a fan and who couldn't be a fan.

ckorr2013 I think the movie is primarily, though not exclusively, for fans. The documentary does exactly what you would expect - it rehashes the information that most people who own a television set or read a newspaper already know. In short we are told that she was very talented, had a lot of success followed by (and in conjunction with) considerable difficulties, and died unexpectedly. The film is interspersed throughout with her marriage, drugs, and the minutia of her life that is common knowledge by now. I did not have any revelations that I did not have prior. At best, on a rare occasion, an assumption or two I had was confirmed. Some may argue that the documentary was not intended to present us with additional intriguing information that we did not already know, and that it was more about being a tribute - and this is fine. Irregardless, I would suggest that if you have not had your head in the sand for the last few decades you can miss this one without too much worry. I would not say the film is bad per se, but I did not think it brought anything substantial from outside we already knew. It is, however, a perfectly fine nostalgic film that hard core Whitney fans will likely not want to miss.

Jackson Booth-Millard I saw the trailer for this documentary film, I knew I was definitely going to go to the cinema to see it when I was able to, I am a very big fan of the singer, and I was fascinated to see the story of her life, directed by Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void, The Last King of Scotland, Life in a Day). Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born 9 August 1963, this film depicts the life and career of the American singer and actress, charting her stratospheric rise to fame. The film is made up of archive footage, from Whitney's television appearances, and never-before-seen home video footage from her family and friends, stills from newspaper and magazine articles, and interviews from her family, friends and colleagues. Whitney's family had a history of singing, including her mother Cissy Houston, and she is first cousin of singers Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick. Whitney herself started singing in a gospel choir, then she performed as a soloist in nightclubs, she had a short stint in fashion modelling, before returning to singing and being offered numerous record deals. Whitney turned down many of them, eventually agreeing to sign a contract with Arista Records, headed by Clive Davis, she made her debut television appearance on The Merv Griffin Show in 1985. Her breakout song was "Saving All My Love for You", which went straight to number one in the US and the UK, she followed with other big hits like "How Will I Know" and "The Greatest Love of All". Whitney was fast becoming a superstar, and followed with her second album, which included hits "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", she also performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium. During this time, she met R&B singer Bobby Brown, they married a couple of years later, then she got her opportunity to become an actress, starring alongside Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard, which included the song, her most successful in history, "I Will Always Love You". Of course during this time she was also introduced to drugs, she tried and eventually became addicted alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and pills, and there were many tabloid scandals about the marriage to Bobby Brown, including his various arrests, and reports of him beating Whitney, they divorced in 2007. Whitney did have success with her next albums, including further hits like "It's Not Right But It's Okay" and "My Love Is Your Love", but her behaviour, addictions, many cancelled appearances and tours were causing her career to go downwards. She attempted a comeback, with varied success, but her live performances did not go down well with fans, with her singing being often off-key, she eventually went to rehab, and after returning patched things up with her family, including daughter Bobbi Kristina, and also returned to acting in a remake of Sparkle. Throughout the film, in various archive clips and performances, you can tell that Whitney struggled with her personal demons and addictions, displaying "dishevelled" and "erratic" behaviour, and struggling as a wife and mother. On 11 February 2012, Whitney was found dead in a suite at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, submerged in the bathtub, her death was caused by drowning and the "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use", she was aged 48. Three years later, her daughter Bobbi Kristina was also found unconscious in a bathtub, she was put into an induced coma, she died in hospice care on 26 July 2015, at the age of 22. With contributions from Bobby Brown, Cissy Houston, Clive Davis, Gary Houston, L.A. Reid, Mary Jones and Kevin Costner. There are things I found out about Whitney I never would have known about, including her bisexuality, and a lesbian relationship with her best friend Robyn Crawford. It is difficult to watch when the footage shows Whitney acting strangely under the influence of drugs, but you cannot deny she was an incredible talent, her singing voice is amazing, and she still holds the records as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, it may be a bit up and down with its editing and approach to particular subjects, but it is a most interesting biographical music documentary. Good!

rprice01 If you are a Whitney Houston fan or even if you mainly just enjoy some of her hit songs, I highly recommend this movie. It is a very raw and real documentary that tells the successes and struggles that Whitney faced throughout her lifetime. The movie has never-seen-before footage and stories from Whitney's family members (Mother Cissy Houston, her siblings, Bobby Brown, best friend Robyn, etc), friends, and business associates and it talks about some of the deep, and dark secrets of her past all the way to the end of her life. "Whitney" had me up in excitement when I saw some of her behind-the-scenes thoughts and moments, but it also had me very sad when I saw a clear look into some of the personal demons that haunted her and were often in some of the tabloids at the time. If you want to look more into the story of an icon and to enjoy a strong drama on the theater screen, this movie is a good one to check out and it will have you talking and thinking about it even when it's over.