Tuesday, October 9, 2018

'Whitney' documentary doesn't tell full story about Houston as a mother

WHITNEY from MIRAMAX FILMS 2018. According to "The Numbers" that tracks box office receipts. The new documentary on the late singer, Whitney Houston, has garnered $4,659,743 million at the world wide box office.

The documentary was quite revealing about Whitney from her birth as a professional singer (1985) until her death (2012). It had focused a lot on her drug problems though. The filmmakers got nothing from Bobby Brown who simply shut-up about it. So, the audience had to rely on Whitney's professional entourage and her two brothers. It was shocking when one of them had claimed that Bobby couldn't "handle" the heavy drug abuse like he could. It sounded like he was a "better" abuser than Bobby could-ever-be. Sadly, both of the brothers who went on tour with Whitney are showing wear-and-tear. Their own drug and alcohol problems had aged them beyond their years. It is apparent in their unsteady mannerisms and the way they speak.

The filmmakers couldn't pin-point when exactly Whitney's drug abuse took over. Record company executives say they didn't know anything about it. Some of her personal entourage stayed quiet too because of the money they continued to receive. What is very clear is that Whitney's father had ripped her off in the millions ($$). She fired him and he sued her for $100 million. It was right after she had signed the music contract worth that same amount.

Dee Dee Warwick was Whitney's cousin who is accused of sexually molesting both her and brother Gary. He admits to this. Whitney's former assistant Mary Jones claims that Whitney had told her about the molestation. It was not revealed to filmmakers until the end of production. They had to re-edit and didn't delve into it thoroughly. Whitney's mother Cissy Houston and cousin Dionne Warwick were shocked to hear of these claims who deny them completely. Dee Dee passed away in 2008 who is not here to answer to these allegations. One question lingers about these claims. Why did they wait until both Whitney and Dee Dee had passed on?

We get to hear what Whitney's entourage and friends say about her as a mother. What we don't see is how Whitney thought and felt as a mother toward Bobbi Kristina. She does in countless news reports and interviews over the years. We see none of that in this film. They concentrated more on the drug use and Whitney's downfall.

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