ACE #327: 'Whitney' Review: And I Am Still a Whitney Houston Fan

After watching last night’s Whitney directed by Angela Bassett, I felt compelled to look at the larger issues.  I applaud Bassett for telling a story from a different viewpoint that would not necessarily be popular.  But let’s be realistic - no one movie, no one news article, no one version, and no one side can ever tell the complete story.  Whitney Houston died three years ago, yet we still want to know “what really happened”?  Well…life happened.

As the story unfolds, the viewers see the developing curiosity Whitney Houston has toward Bobby Brown.  There is nothing that is out of the ordinary here.  The “good girl” is always attracted to the “bad boy” and vice versa.  We would love to believe, even after her death, that this man turned her into something awful.  Yet we forget that she was seven years older than him and he could not legally purchase alcohol when they met.

Whitney was not this innocent flower that we would love to believe she was.  She was human, flawed, and foolish...just like most of us at the age of 26.  I was raised in church just like Whitney.  However, I was never exposed to the entertainment industry.  We are disillusioned to believe that her parents’ lives were perfect either as they were in this industry.  Has any of our lives been perfect – free from exposure to drugs, alcohol or sex in some form or another?  To keep putting her on a pedestal, and even our own lives, is just a lie and a letdown.  It does not mean that Whitney was not a Christian or that she did not love God.  But it does speak of our inability to serve two masters and to live a double-minded lifestyle.  It is dangerous and destructive.  In the end, some things are simply about the choices we make.

I commend Yaya DaCosta for her “over the top” performance.  She had big shoes to fill in playing a world-renowned diva.  I think she nailed it – the movement, the mannerisms, and the intensity that was Whitney.  Arlen Escarpeta as Bobby Brown wasn’t that bad either.  People kept saying that his performance as Bobby Brown was “getting on their nerves”. That is hilarious to me because during this time frame, Bobby Brown did get on everybody’s nerves thrusting himself into Whitney’s spotlight.  Even more accurately, she thrust him into her own spotlight when nobody even asked her to…but he was her husband.  She was supposed to give him status in her life and to forsake all others.  We would love to believe that these two were not “equally yoked” and then the arguments, the judgments, and the indictments would make sense…wouldn’t they?  If there was any truth to any of it, I believe depending on the time, Bobby was her enabler and her helper.  It just went a little too far for both of them - the partying, the drugs, and the alcohol.  He survived it, but sadly she didn’t.  

There is also something to be said about guarding our reputation and our character.  People can only tell a story by what they “see”.  Her life was on display for everyone to see – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  That is why people felt comfortable enough, or at least entitled, to try to tell her story. Also, do not miss the teachable moments like being a role model for our own children rather than allowing them to model after people they do not even know.  We get mad at celebrities who proclaim, “I am not a role model!”  Truthfully, many are not; therefore, there is personal responsibility and accountability to be that for our own children.

Regardless of any news story that will ever be told, any movie that will ever be produced, and any interviews with anyone who knew her – Whitney Houston will always be a cultural icon.  Deborah Cox did Ms. Houston great justice in rendering her vocals to the movie. It seemed natural, quite effortless actually.

Nobody can ruin the legacy of Whitney Houston.  Nobody can erase her greatness, her gift. Whitney Houston gave hope to every little girl – of any race – that we could sing...all of us!  She will forever be known as “the voice”.  And…I, personally, will always love Whitney Houston.  #RIPNippy

Matthew 6:24

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

James 1
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
⁹ Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.