Houston , we have a problem.
Nick Broomfield’s documentary about Whitney Houston, CAN I BE ME?, is such a slow burn affair that interest for the general view may well splutter before it ignites.
It begins with the 911 call triggered in response to her unresponsiveness, the emergency call that first alerted the world that Whitney Houston had exited this life at the age of 48.
Over the radio voices, another voice intones that Whitney Houston died of a broken heart.
Flashback to footage of her last major world tour in 1999, footage that has allegedly never been shown before, which spools away for minutes. Riveting to long time fans, but bloody boring to the casual observer.
Flashback some more to 1963, the year of her birth, to Newark, New Jersey, the place of her birth. Here we get shots of race riots and a cursory mention of the apartheid of the time. We are introduced to her mother, Cissy, the stage mom from Hell and bastion of the New Hope Baptist Church where Whitney was schooled in Gospel singing and a fear of God.
We hear from those supposed to know that Whitney was closer to her dad than her mother, that Cissy was a strict disciplinarian and taught her daughter all she knew. Cissy was determined to live her ambition through her daughter.
Signed to Arista Records as a 19 year old, we witness Whitney’s first TV appearance, the success of her debut album, and her ostracism from the Soul Train.
Between Arista development and her domineering mother, by the time she was 21 she craved to be herself, not some pop manufactured personality.
According to her band members, “Can I be me?” was Houston’s favourite expression, one she used so much that they sampled it to play at the start of rehearsals.
The film explores Whitney’s central dilemma: even though she had made millions of dollars, had more consecutive number ones than The Beatles and was recognised as having one of the greatest voices of all time, she still couldn’t do what she wanted to do, either professionally or in her personal life.
The best bits of CAN I BE ME are home movies with Bobby Brown and an interview with her bodyguard, David Roberts, otherwise it’s a fairly dull and dour documentary.