Jennifer Wiles
Staff/MC Contributor
The female-focused network, Lifetime, has found relevancy early in the year with the release of “Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart” on Jan. 23.
In 2015, Lifetime released “Whitney”, which told the tragic story of legendary singer Whitney Houston and received a lot of negative backlash. Many believed that the biopic chronicling the life of the seven-time Grammy Award winning Braxton, would receive more of the same negative response.
Braxton, now 48, is a well known singer, songwriter, producer and television personality. The Maryland native actually helped produce the biopic.
Because of fan disappointment with recent biopics, like those on Houston, TLC and Aaliyah, many were pleasantly surprised by the Braxton movie.
In a world of “tea spilling”, the movie begins with Braxton, played by a new face to the television, Lex Scott Davis, live in concert performing one of her hit songs, “He Wasn’t Man Enough.” Less than two minutes into the movie the dramatics quickly pick up after she passes out midway through the routine on stage.
Viewers instantly get to engage in a flashback of Braxton and her many sisters performing for producers L.A. Reid and Babyface when they decide to scout new talent. The Braxton sisters catch the eye the producers, especially the sultry Toni. Braxton is immediately torn when she is faced with a path to either sign alone or wait on an opportunity to share with her sisters.
As history will tell, Braxton dropped her sister act like the worst of habits,. The singer’s life takes a turn for the worse when her shows start to burn holes in her pockets, putting her in almost $4 million in debt and leaving her in bankruptcy.
With her career at a standstill, vulnerability’s window opens up and love comes flying in when she falls for a former keyboardist of Mint Condition, Keri Lewis.
Braxton was now back in the game socially and musically, and with good news steadily coming, pregnancy knocks on the door, which leads up to wedding bells.
However she receives devastating news that her son, Diesel has autism. With only twenty-five minutes left in the movie, Braxton goes into cardiac arrest spur of the moment suffering a heart attack.
It is then revealed that Braxton has Lupus, which is a disease that unfortunately attacks her heart. With no cure for the disease, she ignores her doctors warning and conceals her pain until she passes out again on stage and gets sued for canceling her show. Turning her back on her husband she pushes Lewis away and initiates their soon to be divorce.
After a constant build up, Braxton finally decides to take her disease public and announces it while canceling her tour. Although the door for music closes, the Braxton sisters decide to go public too by doing a reality show. Getting on board Braxton and her family share their everyday life, which currently is still airing, “The Braxton Family Values.”
Tip toeing around a lot of scandals, and the obvious love she has with singer/songwriter, Babyface, the movie ends on a high note with Braxton coming out of retirement and winning a Grammy for Best R& B album for her collaboration with Babyface.
Subtracting the retched lip syncing, those who are a part of “Black Twitter”, seemed to be satisfied with the outcome of the movie, the actors and “Toni Braxton: Unbreak my Heart” fortunately, turned out to not be a heart breaker.
