Photo credit: Jack Zeman/Lifetime
Lifetime has been releasing a string of biopics that no one has asked for. There were ones about Saved by the Bell, Brittany Murphy, and of course the infamous one about Aaliyah. This time they’re trying their hand with Whitney, about the legend Whitney Houston.
Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B was met with universal panning. The internet was alive with anger the weekend the film premiered. Both Lifetime’s and Wendy Williams’s mentions on Twitter were in shambles for the entire weekend. Despite that, the Aaliyah film was a ratings success.
Lifetime really has nothing to lose with Whitney. If it’s good, then no harm no foul. Everyone wins. If it’s bad, they’re hoping that Black Twitter will hate watch it, and they still have ratings gold. I am a big fan of Angela Bassett, so I’m hoping that this turns out to be good, especially since the family was against it. Aaliyah’s family was against The Princess of R&B, and we saw how that turned out.
Since Whitney Houston’s family is against the film, Lifetime couldn’t secure her vocals. They enlisted Deborah Cox to rerecord Whitney’s songs for the film. Deborah Cox is a great talent, so that’s a check in the plus column. For those who have any faith in the film, this weekend will be a chance to see if it hits the mark.
Synopsis:
“Whitney” chronicles the headline-making relationship between the iconic singer, actress, producer and model Whitney Houston and singer and songwriter Bobby Brown from the time they first met at the very height of their celebrity to their courtship and tumultuous marriage. Throughout it all, difficulties followed the superstar couple while they dealt with the overwhelming rewards and consequences of the fame and fortune created by Houston’s meteoric rise that would soon overshadow them both.
Cast:
Yaya DaCosta – Whitney Houston
Arlen Escarpeta – Bobby Brown
Crew:
Director – Angela Bassett
Writer – Shem Bitterman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYc3BcjYyL0
Whitney premieres Saturday, January 17 at 8/7c on Lifetime.
Source: Lifetime
