I Wanna Dance with Somebody: A História de Whitney Houston

For those of us who grew up listening to Whitney Houston as her story was splashed across the news and into our lives as it happened, there is nothing new here. We would have been better served if the filmmakers just did a documentary with the real Whitney Houston spliced into it here and there, as I didn't find the actress believable in the role. She may have studied her mannerisms etc. But it didn't work. Whitney was a very good looking woman, who could sing, she had style (or her stylist had) but she carried it off. Usually with Biopics you forget that its an actor playing a part but this didn't happen and it was distracting. Save yourself the time and just watch the real Whitney in a few videos on YouTube.

Let's start with the most important fact: Naomi Ackie kills it as Whitney Houston in "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." When her casting was announced, some were put off by their lack of close physical resemblance. No matter: Ackie handily disappears into the role. She is particularly expert in capturing the cadence of Whitney's speech, conveying her fiercely independent personality in all its charisma and occasional prickliness.

This is a movie that puts Whitney's career front and center, with a special emphasis on her relationship with Arista records founder Clive Davis. Stanley Tucci makes for an impressively spot-on Davis, although perhaps his portrayal is a bit too reverent. The scene where he confronted her over her spiraling drug addiction was tough to watch. I appreciated the lack of cheap psychological gimmicks to explain away her troubles.

Whitney's important, long-lasting lesbian relationship with creative director Robyn Crawford is finally given its fair shake here. Crawford is a deeply fascinating figure in her own right, and their scenes together pop. Apparently, Crawford has written a book on her experiences and I'm very curious to check it out.

The musical highlight is the near superhuman medley of "I Loves You Porgy", "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" and "I Have Nothing" from the 1994 American Music Awards. Whitney's original voice is thankfully used for the singing parts, as if any other choice was possible for the greatest vocalist of the 20th century!

Music biopics do seem to bring out a special kind of snobbery and faux-cleverness from critics at times. Were you really not expecting to see Whitney singing in church or signing her first record deal? These are the facts of her life! They are told beautifully and compellingly here.

I was astonished at the simplicity and pure lack of creativity and imagination with this made for TV movie. It literally goes from A to B, copying and pasting all the way. Nothing unique to see here.

All good bio pics don't dare tell the whole story. It is just too difficult to make something great when you have so much to say. So they find the magic within. That micro story. And they make magic out of that. This film couldn't be bothered with that. So just painted by numbers, doing a very formulaic blah blah of nothingness.

Whitney was an amazing artist. One who deserved only the best. But all she got was a low rated TV Movie. A really tragic story.

That said, the actress did act. She was very good. I just wish they had done the right thing and given her someone who could have found her true magic with an intelligent story and more creative direction.

If you can overlook the fact that she looks nothing like Whitney Houston, Naomi Ackie manages the impressive task of channeling the icon in a manner that feels both authentic and respectful. My problem with this overlong 2022 biopic is the Wikipedia-level approach that director Kasi Lemmons and screenwriter Anthony McCarten took in telling Houston's story with one familiar scene or performance moving to the next with little sense of dramatic transition. It comes as no surprise that McCarten wrote the similarly elliptical "Bohemian Rhapsody". Some moments (like the "How Will I Know?" video and the national anthem at the Super Bowl) were captured faithfully and with conviction by Ackie who lip-syncs to Houston quite effectively. Other moments felt like they belonged on Lifetime with honest revelations few and far between.

This is definitely a must watch for fans. Filled with nostalgia and emotions. I teared up throughout the movie. They used Whitney's voice for the singing scenes which got me So Emotional. Pun intended!

While it's obvious she doesn't look like Whitney, Naomi did an amazing job. She nailed Whitney's mannerisms and body language. The actor playing Clive Davis was spot on as well. What made the movie come to life were the styling, outfits, makeup, and hair. The music video sets were all spot on. All the staff who worked on them deserve awards.

I've seen the biopics, documentaries, and interviews. I've read the books written by Cissy, Bobby, Narada, and Robyn. Some of the information presented in the movie seemed inaccurate and were purposely left out (ex: no mention of Eddie Murphy). For instance, it's publicly known that it was Kevin Costner and not Clive who asked Whitney to sing "I Will Always Love You".

I was disappointed by the portrayals of John Houston and Robyn Crawford. The movie portrayed John as an aggressive father who only cares about making and spending money off of her daughter. There's some truth to this. But according to Robyn's book, John was gentle and genuinely cared about Whitney's well-being. The movie only painted John as the greedy one. But real fans know John wasn't the only one.

As for Robyn, the movie portrayed her as someone totally opposite of who she really is. Real fans know that Robyn is soft-spoken, calm, and someone who genuinely cared about Whitney.

I was not happy they portrayed Whitney aloof ignoring fans when fans asked her for an autograph/photograph. I'm not saying that hasn't happened before. But there have been countless times on camera showing that she was happy to meet fans.

There was no mention of Whitney's personal assistant and close confidant, Sylvia. At the very least they could've had an extra with no lines putting a towel over Whitney (which Sylvia did during the world tours).

There was little mention of things that really mattered to Whitney such as her faith, the community, and causes. I wish they focused on that more.

Don't expect the movie to reveal things that aren't already known to the public. The movie doesn't go deep into details.

Critics say there should've been more focus on her struggles and what's not known. I disagree because the world already knows too much. She did not like her personal life being all out there. Most of all, she wanted to be remembered for her music. The movie respected that by presenting what's already known (all the ups and the downs), and by raising her legacy and achievements which were once heavily overshadowed by her struggles.