Parents' Guide to

Whitney

Movie R 2018 122 minutes
Whitney Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Tara McNamara By Tara McNamara , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Intimate, frank doc reveals insight behind icon's addiction.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Whitney Movie: Whitney Houston
  • Whitney Movie: Michael Houston, Robyn Crawford, Whitney Houston, Gary Houston, Aunt Bae
  • Whitney Movie: John Houston, Whitney
  • Whitney Movie: Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston
  • Whitney Movie: Whitney Houston in concert

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 17+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Katherine R.
Katherine R. Parent of 10, 14, 18+, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old
June 20, 2024
age 18+

ThomasReview
ThomasReview Adult
July 7, 2018
age 18+

Whitney 2018

Whitney donned a vote Obama bennie which wasn’t part of the documentary. Whilst the New Jersey riots were used to portray racial tensions from Whitney’s childhood. The people surrounding Whitney spoke without shedding a tear and to me looked more interested in being on camera. Whitney had been to Rehabilitation clinics This wasn’t documented, and during periods of sobriety Whitney had mentors to turn to, we didn’t hear from them. We saw footage of Whitney under the influence looking the worse for wear, and Kevin Kostner stuck to the Bodyguard with a sweet antidote. Bobby Brown explained that Whitney’s drug usage was not relevant to the documentary. If you believe you need to know about the drugs to understand Whitney. I believe you need to know about the physical and mental damage drugs cause and Whitney suffered the consequences of drug use. I don’t believe Whitney would have accepted a bag of weed and a bit of coke for her Sweet 16th. Whitney’s 26th Birthday was a stark contrast to this claim by her brother, pictured with Whitney using soft focus to illuminate a glow. I didn’t get to the end of the documentary, it got too much when footage of Kensington Palace was used. Subliminal racial message, WH crossed a stereotypical racial boundary as allegedly did PD perpetuated by none other than, you guessed it a white male. President Obama did not attend Whitney’s funeral in 2011.
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What's the Story?

WHITNEY explores the life, career, and untimely death of iconic singer Whitney Houston in an effort to answer this question: How did it all go wrong? Houston broke more records than any other female artist in music history, she was undeniably beautiful, she achieved success as an actress, and she came from a loving, tight-knit family rooted in the church. Since she really appeared to have it all, her public downfall was all the more confusing. Using interviews with those closest to the singer and footage from home videos, Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald opens the door for audiences to see and understand "Nippy" (Houston's childhood nickname) as her family did. Houston's family and colleagues provide candid accounts of the issues she struggled with and an understanding of why she made destructive decisions.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (2 ):

Macdonald should make some room on his mantle: This documentary may just earn him another Oscar. Whitney delivers the thing its audience wants most: answers. We want to understand why someone who appeared to be on top of the world would trip, fall, and choose to stay in the mud until it became quicksand -- and by the time the credits roll, we will. Macdonald starts by introducing a Whitney everyone can relate to: an everyday girl who could be anyone's daughter, or even the viewer herself. He takes audiences through her meteoric rise, shows why the world fell in love with her, and addresses the ensuing tabloid headlines. Then, we ride her descent. It's heart-wrenching, but in a true feat, Macdonald allows Houston to retain her dignity. Through archival footage, personal video, never-before-released materials, and interviews with the people in her world, Macdonald allows the public to see the real Whitney Houston and her demons.

Whitney will satisfy most audiences. Music fans will thrive on nuggets like a capella renditions of Houston's hits and trivia about how she came to reinvent "The Star-Spangled Banner." Parents will be engrossed in the missteps and red flags that Houston's family inadvertently made and missed. And teens will soak up the story of the Pop Queen turned Movie Star turned Drug-Addled Diva; hopefully it will leave them feeling that, when the story is all laid out, Houston's inner chaos and ultimate demise were, sadly, predictable.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the mix of fame, fortune, and drug problems that the music industry seems to serve up so frequently. According to Whitney, do you think Houston's success influenced her substance abuse?

  • Houston's brother said, "When you don't deal with things, they never go away." What do you think he meant by that? Why do you think the family kept Houston's secret for so long? What's the point in revealing it now?

  • Houston's mother, Cissy, was often on the road as a singer, leaving Whitney and her siblings with close family and friends. Those experiences had a negative impact on Whitney, so she brought her own daughter on the road with her -- which had its own negative consequences. Do you think Cissy did the wrong thing? What about Whitney?

  • "If you love someone, you want the best for them, even if it's not the best for you." If that statement from the film is true, who in Houston's life acted in her best interest? What are your thoughts on her marriage to Bobby Brown? How did their actions impact their daughter, Bobbi Kristina?

  • If you could go back in time, what advice would you give Whitney Houston?

Movie Details

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