Gabrielle Dennis On The Explosive 'Bobby Brown Story,' Becoming Whitney And Getting Villainous For 'Luke Cage'

Gabrielle Dennis has an aura of fearlessness about her. The Howard University alum first rose to fame in 2008 when she stepped onto the television scene as Janay, the woman who came between Derwin (Pooch Hall) and Melanie (Tia Mowry-Hardrict) on the long-running dramedy The Game. Since then, Dennis has claimed her spot in the Marvel Universe in Netflix's Luke Cage, starred opposite Morris Chestnut on the medical drama Rosewood and has even appeared on the beloved Issa Rae comedy Insecure. Now, Dennis is taking on the role of a lifetime as the late Whitney Houston in BET’s The Bobby Brown Story. Houston left behind a voice and legacy that was so impactful that it still rings out across the globe, so it wasn't a role that Dennis took lightly. "I wouldn't say there was necessarily a fear," she explained to me ahead of  The Bobby Bown Story premiere. "Going into it, understanding how important this role is, how important the need for me to approach it with a certain level of respect and being very delicate because of who she is, it was definitely a challenge. The hardest thing, I think, was that it was such a rushed project. We shot two films in six weeks. It's just such a whirlwind. Things go so quickly. It was a lot of hard work in the preparation and the studying of her. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time on set to just be playing around. It was just kind of like, 'Girl, during your time off, it's just ... it's watching videos; it's studying your lines.'"

Though Houston had such an energetic spirit, many aspects of her life, especially her marriage to Brown, were often filled with darkness. It was a weight that Dennis had to shake off when filming wrapped. "When I finally wrapped, it was definitely a relief," the Luke Cage actress said. "It took a while to get Whitney off of me because I care so much about her, and I feel like there's this relationship that I have with her now, even though I've never met her — it's a relationship that I have with her now that's different from the one I had with her before. I went on a journey of trying to understand her, her mental space and the things that she went through, especially during her relationship and her marriage. So there's a lot of that darkness and that heavy weight that I had to sit with during that process, and it was hard and very emotional. At the end of the day, you get so upset. She's not here, and she should be here. It's very heartbreaking."

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'Whitney' Is Sobering But Lacks A Fresh Perspective

Whitney Houston’s voice was almost otherworldly; there's no denying it. Her legacy, though fraught with pain and tragedy, will never be erased. There has been much speculation about Houston, her career and the addictions that eventually led to her death, and now in the documentary film Whitney, Houston's family and director Kevin Macdonald are presenting their account of the late idol's life. Much of the film comes from the perspective of those closest to Houston, including her brothers, Michael and Gary, as well as her mother, Cissy Houston; ex-husband Bobby Brown; and even her co-star Kevin Costner. Using these confessionals, Macdonald outlines The Preacher’s Wife actress’s childhood in New Jersey through her death on that fateful February day in 2012. What stands out immediately is that the details of Houston’s childhood are up for debate. While some in her inner circle insist that her childhood was idyllic in spite of her parent's divorce, others tell a different story altogether. These never discussed aspects of Houston's adolescence paint a heartbreaking tale of molestation and immense pressure to get her voice just right.

While the narrative is intriguing, some of the stylistic choices in Whitney are odd. Macdonald intercuts footage like MTV commercials and news specials throughout the film with then-contemporary footage of Houston in an attempt to orient the audience. However, it often felt distracting. Additionally, though the film was executive produced by The Bodyguard star's sister-in-law, Pat Houston, and involved several close members of the Houston family, Macdonald did not spend a great deal of time with those nearest and dearest to Whitney, including her mother. The on-camera interviews in the film are heavily edited. Choppy cuts and transitions raise questions about authenticity, Macdonald's access and the impartiality of Whitney.

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Tribeca Review: 'Whitney. "Can I Be Me'''

Fame is a fickle friend, especially when you are trying to reconcile your public persona with the person you are inside. Nick Broomfield’s somber and devastating documentary on the late-great Whitney Houston follows the pop icon's meteoric rise and the fame, attention, money and addictions that eventually cost her everything. “Whitney. ‘Can I Be Me’” opens with the fateful 911 call from the Beverly Hilton to the LAPD in 2012. Houston had perished in her hotel bathtub after falling asleep with opioids and cocaine in her system. Flashing back in time, “Can I Be Me” takes us back to 1999, behind the scenes of Houston’s last successful world tour. With tons of never before seen footage shot by German filmmaker Rudi Dolezal, we watch the then-36-year-old star, move through European cities night after night. She plays and reenacts scenes from "What's Love Got To Do With It?" with her rambunctious and often lewd husband Bobby Brown, teases her staff, stuffs herself with pizza and chicken wings and hangs with her dear friend Robyn Crawford. And yet, in the quiet moments when she’s getting her makeup touched up or having her hair curled, Whitney Houston looks exhausted.

A sliding timeline that moves all the way back to Houston’s childhood in Newark and East Orange, New Jersey, we can see how much the image of “The Whitney Houston” was molded and handled by her parents, Clive Davis, Arista Records and the industry as a whole. Though she was a church girl, often under the thumb of her mother Cissy Houston, the “I Will Always Love You” singer was no stranger to the edgier side of life. In the film, her brothers, Gary and Michael emphasize that she often partied with them and did drugs recreationally as a teenager. However, the overwhelming spectacle of her life especially after the premiere of “The Bodyguard: and her high-profile marriage to industry bad boy Bobby Brown aided in her dependency on narcotics. Apparently, she overdosed on cocaine while filming “Waiting to Exhale” in 1995.

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Review: Lifetime's Angela Bassett-Directed 'Whitney' is Surprisingly Fresh

Admittedly, I was skeptical when I heard that Angela Bassett would be directing a film about Whitney Houston’s life for Lifetime. Ms. Bassett knew Whitney personally, having worked with her in "Waiting to Exhale" (1995), and her husband Courtney B. Vance, also worked with Whitney on the film "The Preacher’s Wife" (1996).  Perhaps it was because of this friendship and reverence for the star that allowed Ms. Bassett to make the, surprisingly, honest, passionate, and well-done "Whitney."

Instead of a biography of Ms. Houston’s entire career and life, Ms. Bassett chose to focus on her passionate, obsessive and often tumultuous relationship with her then husband Bobby Brown.  The film follows the duo from their initial meeting at the 1989 Soul Train Awards, through the end of her "The Bodyguard" tour.

Yaya DaCosta as Whitney Houston paints a portrait of a loving and beautiful woman struggling to remain present as her status as an icon swiftly overwhelms her.  Whitney was clearly a woman who struggled, as many of us do, with the duality of the desires of her head and her heart. Relative newcomer Arlen Escarpeta, while in no way favoring Bobby Brown, portrays a man in love, but still very much a product of his environment, which is evidenced by his wild ways. Only twenty years old when they initially meet, Bobby wrestles with his own demons, as he faces a career stalemate, and Whitney’s continues to soar expeditiously.

As the film tells us, at the height of their fame when they are first introduced to one another, Whitney and Bobby quickly embark on a romantic and erotic relationship. The film was especially sexy, highlighting the fact that, despite their trials and tribulations, the pair was always consumed with one another. Outside pregnancies, a miscarriage, the pressures of work, as well as drug and alcohol abuse, heighten the tension between the pair, until it seemed they could no longer function together or apart. As time wore on, their love became toxic.

After shooting "The Bodyguard" (1992) and giving birth to her daughter Bobbi Kristina, Houston desperately wanted to set her public life aside for a moment, to be a wife and mother. Houston was exceedingly aware of her public perception. She was concerned all along that her involvement with Brown would bring a lot of scrutiny to her image and life choices.

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xoxoxo Chocolate Girl in the City xoxoxox