User reviews

The movie is overhyped and Wendy's early life, character development rushed. I've seen better impersonation of Wendy on tiktoks. Casting the actress Ciera Payton only effort to nail Wendy was when she replicated wendy faiting on live tv on Halloween. How disappointing that the production didn't even try to portay Wendy transformation from big girl to post surgery skinnier wendy!. Payton portrayed a very skinny frame since the beginning of Wendy's career in radio. What an insult to the audience! Seems like production was cutting corners on makeup dept. Overwhelmingly focused on her married life leading up to her divorce as if she just decided to use this movie as a therapy to get over her failed marriage.

Firstly, I think that Wendy should have made this available on-demand, to international viewers. At this date of writing, the only good quality version is available in the US.

Anyway, I think it was an interesting movie & I really gained an insight into Wendy's life & everything she's been through. The way it was shown, made it feel real. And the really heavy scenes were done tastefully. The acting was great, particularly the actress who played Wendy. (Bravo to the directors; I think they did a great job!)

My only minor critique is, I think that the mid to latter portion of the movie overly focused on her relationship with Kelvin. Whereas, I would have *also* liked to see a bit more about Wendy as a person, her hobbies, interests, friends, the intricacies of how the Wendy show was developed over time, perhaps a funny story etc. (all of which I think was glanced over). But then again, maybe what we got was true to reality i.e. Kelvin dominated those past 20 years & there's nothing else worth mentioning.

Although overall, it's a great movie which is worth watching if you're a Wendy fan.

Okay, so to be clear from the outset, I am not someone overly familiar with the career of Wendy Williams nor know her story outside of her show and I've only seen a few clips of that because my better half is a huge fan.

So I am coming at this from a place of impartiality and really new nothing about this woman, I didn't even know she had fainted once on a show. Now I am always interested in a good biopic, especially a raw and honest one. I'm also aware of some of the other work of some of the cast, so I was curious to see how they did with their roles, so needless to say, my interest was piqued.

You probably don't need me to outline the story, but I do a short synopsis in every review I do, so I won't break that habit now.

After a short opening set in the present we flashback to the childhood of Ms Williams, where it would appear she was brought up in fairly middle class surroundings but had a Mother (played by Lisa Huget - excellent, give her more work please!) who didn't quite know where to direct all her daughters energy and an envious older sister, of whom we find out very little. (But this is Wendy's story, so that's okay) A few conflicts aside she appears to have come from a fairly loving and stable home compared to many. Adult Wendy's interest in the 80s music scene soon leads to her pursuing a career at a radio station, then as a DJ, then as a controversial talk show host. Soon she's dishing dirt on the careers of music impresarios left and right and making as many enemies as friends. She also develops a bad habit for two things which would remain fairly consistent through her life. Cocaine and Bad Boys, both of which would cause her various states of distress at different times. She's raped by a star after doing drugs in his hotel suite and ends up in relationships which ultimately become abusive and controlling. Her longterm boyfriend Kevin Hunter (Played with superb nuance by Morocco Omari who some will know from the show Empire) ultimately ends up becoming her greatest adversary and her break from him, her ultimate victory. The film charts the various highs and lows and doesn't pull any punches about Wendy's flaws of which she has many, culminating from a word from the actual lady herself.

Okay. So did I find this engaging, as someone with little interest in the subject matter? Absolutely. But the primary reason for this was because of the performance of the lead CIERA PEYTON, she was absolutely outstanding. For any actor a role like this is not only a poisoned chalice but extremely challenging, if you imitate a person too closely and you risk effectively just doing an impersonation (How many times have we seen someone do a bad Borat?) but stretch too far from the persona of the subject and you risk losing their essence and thus credibility. Ms Peyton pitched her performance perfectly, not only did she capture the energy of Wendy, but you felt at all times like you were watching the real person and that is no small achievement. She made the show eminently watchable. Wardrobe and hair, first rate job too, she looked and sounded every bit the part.

So why are people being hard on this movie? I think this is why - The story of Wendy's life is told in super fast rollercoaster fashion in a film which really felt like it should have been a two parter and it does so with LOTS AND I MEAN LOTS, OF VOICEOVER!!! (Thankfully with the voice of the actress playing Wendy, more on her in a moment) overuse of this technique was off putting and unfortunately this was the shows biggest flaw. I mean we really don't need a voiceover explaining what the AIDS crisis was, when we've seen Wendy reading a pamphlet on the subject and is in a clinic with a massive aids poster on the wall. You really don't need to spell out every scene for us in this way - give your audience and your lead actor credit. We can follow the story and the constant voice over was often unnecessary and at times very distracting and reduced the impact of emotional scenes. We kept being told about things we had just seen or were about to see - just let us see the drama play on screen. I get it, there was loads to include and the writing had a sense of panic about it. 'I must comment on this...' but the drama was all there. I'd actually love to watch the film again with no voice over at all and just a few titles to show change of time and place and really let the performance of Ms Peyton breathe because she really does deserve all the credit she gets for her performance.

It's hard to watch this and not feel empathy for Wendy's story, by the end of it I honestly just wanted to hug the woman and tell she is loved by many and that this in any life, of itself, is no small achievement. She's someone who has obviously endured a great deal and I suspect this movie will be a cathartic experience for her and I sincerely hope it gives her a greater sense of peace and closure on those doors from her past which really do need to stay shut. I can't say how one sided this version is and obviously it cannot be without some bias, but its too the films credit that Wendy's ex, Kevin, though portrayed as flawed, was also shown to have a deeply caring side and was more complex in his failings than most portrayals of this type in similar films and again, that is also down to the acting. Because the film did not fall into that trap, that is another reason why I had to give it credit. Without that and Ms Peytons performance it would have got a 5 due to the issues I have mentioned but its strengths go a long way to redeeming these. If you're a Wendy fan, she's putting it all out there on line for you to see, and no doubt you will enjoy a greater insight into her journey which has been anything but boring. In the same context, neither was the movie and I sincerely wish her well. If you're not a fan, its still worth seeing for some damn good acting from the lead. I've been generous with my rating but the stars were definitely earned.

I liked this biopic. It's crazy how deep down she was hurting inside but got to tell her story once her husband left.

This was garbage and honestly nothing shocking.For someone that is constantly dealing dirt, she ain't got the nerve to tell the REAL STORY! I don't care who Wendy slept with and I don't care about her parents.I want to know why she lied to her fans for years, put up with a fake thug, and thought her fake hair, fake breasts and buck teeth were enough to throw anyone off her scent.

I can see why all other networks passed on this story.It's a2 hour commercial for her failing talk show.

It is a tv movie after all. But if you love Wendy you wont mind it! She told her story, her side and truth! It worked! Casting is great!

Only a brain dead Wendy fan could love this tacky movie with over dramatized amateur acting! Even though it's Wendy Williams I expected Better!

I watch Wendy on YouTube every morning when I work out, and I am so entertained by her show. This movie blew me away. I knew a lot of these things, but to see them play out with such superb emotion really touched me. My life had been turned upside down by infidelity, and to see Wendy's strength and intelligence in handling all of this has inspired me greatly. How you doin', Wendy? You gorgeous girl, you are rocking it. Thank you for sharing your journey.

So many people deserve a show, let alone a biopic movie, more than Wendy Williams. She is the worst of media and that is saying a lot. This offends me almost as much as she does.

The actress that played Wendy was dead on. I think folks are underappreciating the work. My only wish was that it was a little fast paced and that it wasn't, the follow up documentary seemed to even things out.

Get this spoiled brat off tv never mind making a movie about her!!! You would be better off sitting in front a wall watching paint dry!

WW has a talk show. It is boring. This is 90 minutes of that with her as the victim. Skip it!

Horrible casting, Wendy should have been played by Laverne Cox or anyone from RuPaul's Drag Race, we all know what Wendy really is. The directing was bad as they try and inspire any kind of sympathy for this person, the story is not the truth, she sold herself out to come up, but they try and show her or him like they're a decent person. This so-called film was similar to Disney doing Dahmer's bio pic and wanting you to see both sides of their supossed story. Im sure Wendy's people had a hand in it and wanted to label the self proclaim queen of daytime talk as a saint. A definite pass don't waste your time.

Ciera Peyton captured my attention and was believable as Wendy Williams. This novice started off rocky for me just because of the narration but by fifteen minutes in, I was hooked. Her story is a story of triumph but you can see how she really went through it to get to where she is. This movie was well done.

'How you doin ?' 🙌

We've been Wendy watchers from the start ! This movie was much anticipated, and BOY did it deliver !! This actress NAILED the "Wendy like " moments - where we "had to squint " to be sure it wasn't really her up there :)

Props to the Cast / directors -they -all did great !

It was interesting getting to know Her on a more personal level - and learning of her certain misfortunes and blessings that led to her new beginning-

The ending was clever and cute - and I didn't want it to end !