Most Whitney Houston fans are thrilled to find her story in theaters after seeing plenty of male musician biopics on the big screen, from Elvis (Elvis Presley) to Bohemian Rhapsody (Freddy Mercury) to Rocketman (Elton John) and even Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (Al Yankovic). I Wanna Dance with Somebody is directed by Kasi Lemmons, was written by Anthony McCarten, and stars Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth), Stanley Tucci (Julie & Julia), Ashton Sanders (Judas and the Black Messiah), Tamara Tunie (Flight), Nafessa Williams (Black and Blue), and Clarke Peters (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri).
Fans should prepare to tear up as Lemmons showcases her emotional and heartbreaking life. The film starts with a teenage Whitney Elizabeth Houston who attends catholic school, sings in her local church, sings backup for her mother Cissy Houston, then follows her rise to fame, and her tragic downfall due to drug use.
Ackie does a wonderful job portraying the titular singer. She delivers a powerful performance in front of the screen, but also on stage. Ackie pantomimes Houston's signature moves as Lemmons chose to use Whitney's actual voice through all of the performances. Nonetheless, Ackie's portrayal of Houston comes off as authentic and real. When she's upset, so is the audience. When she cries, so does the audience. Her smile shines bright as Houston's own smile did, uplifting viewers with each and every achievement the film portrays.
With a 146-minute runtime, there is plenty of time to cover the achievements of most people's lives. Of course, Whitney Houston wasn't most people and, as such, I Wanna Dance with Somebody leaves many things out. Writer McCarten chose not to touch on the fact that Houston was a fashion model after being discovered at Carnegie Hall while performing with her mother. She was one of the first women of color to appear on the cover of Seventeen and was a successful teen model gracing the pages of Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Young Miss. It also doesn't address the multiple record deal offers her mother turned down while Whitney was in high school.
The film downplays her acting career and also doesn't show her accepting any awards despite having won 2 Emmys, 8 Grammys, 14 World Music Awards, 16 Billboard awards, and 22 AMAs. It only shows her losing one award and that is only on screen because it occurs during the moment she met Bobby Brown.
While it is refreshing to find a film focused on a musician's talents instead of exploiting the events which tabloids also exploited at the time, it does come off a little unbalanced as the film only touches on each of her personal problems without diving deep into her as a character. Her drug and alcohol use landed her in rehab a number of times, but the film only documents it once. There are few scenes involving a fight with Bobby Brown, with no mention of their physical altercations. This seems to almost soften the most volatile portions of her life.
That being said, this film is a celebration of Whitney Houston's talents and introduces her to a new generation. She touched so many people with her voice and broke so many barriers for female and black artists. Moviegoers will be treated to a selection of her greatest hits; a concert, and a drama all in one.