I Wanna Dance with Somebody

I Wanna Dance with Somebody

The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time. Tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.

  • Released: 2022-12-21
  • Runtime: 146 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, History, Music
  • Stars: Naomi Ackie, Ashton Sanders, Stanley Tucci, Nafessa Williams, Lance A. Williams, Tamara Tunie, Clarke Peters, Daniel Washington, JaQuan Malik Jones, Kris Sidberry, Bailee Lopes, Bria Danielle Singleton, Adrian M. Mompoint, Coffey, Stew Replogle, Chanel Rose Connor, Sean Amos, Jon F. Merz
  • Director: Kasi Lemmons
 Comments
  • majaisakszon - 29 January 2024
    Nice try but noooo.
    It is slow and boring .

    No emotions in the whole movie. Way to long.

    And she is to young to play an adult Whitney Houston.

    She looks like a teenager thougout the whole movie. That should have been one of the things they should have thought of before casting a young girl for this big if a role.a more mature actress could have gotten it better. It is to long and there is nothing that pulls you in it.

    It feels to forced. And Bobby Brown is not a believable guy in the movie. Sorry but this does not have any deep going emotions in it.

    Cheaply done more effort in finding the right Whitney would have been great.

    Waste of 2 + hours if my life.
  • newmailbrendan - 5 September 2023
    A Pretentious Portrayal Presumably Plain, Painful & Powerless
    It's finally here! The long-awaited biography of Whitney Houston, spanning from her childhood to her passing. With musical biopics gaining popularity, such as Rocketman, Elvis, or Bohemian Rhapsody, this illustrious career also gets a story tailor-made for the silver screen. However, whether it turns out well is another question...

    You are quickly thrust into Houston's story, from her upbringing, childhood, school years, to adolescence, and then her rapid rise until her premature mental decline took its toll. The script is nothing extraordinary; the narrative unfolds like a chronological account, resembling scrolling rapidly through a Wikipedia page. It seems as though the screenwriters clearly didn't make use of a storyboard. It moves from point A to point B without apparent reason, lacking substantiation. Things just happen, such as her 'first love' from that time, an important yet often overlooked moment in her life. It's nice that the creators paid attention to it, but the script lacks passion. Nothing seems to complement each other. She strikes up a conversation with a girl from her class, and fifteen minutes later, they are living together. After some time, a rift emerges in their relationship without clear cause. As a viewer, you become frustrated when there's no apparent rationale.

    She gets discovered, signs a record deal, and a few scenes later, we see Houston decorating her massive mansion. Naomi Ackie, portraying Houston, apparently lacks depth in her character. This is, of course, partly due to the script by Anthony McCarten and the direction by Kasi Lemmons.

    The music is there, but some notes and tones are missing. It's the same melody and refrain repeatedly. It feels like a skipping record, skipping many lines, and like a guitar, it seldom strikes the right chords. The film is informative but doesn't reveal anything new. The story is a continuous rehashing of superficial events. We find some solace in the moments when Houston sings, but that's almost expected.

    She's a stunning woman with a powerful voice, and her performances are beautifully recreated. At times, you can taste the atmosphere as if you're truly there. Undoubtedly, the ending is the best part of the entire film. We had to wait a long time, but it all comes together. The character evolves, and the story's purpose is realized. It came from somewhere and is heading somewhere with clarity. Her gaze in the mirror when she's alone in her hotel room was emotional and a heart-wrenching scene. You can't help but empathize with her entire life. The upfront investment is minimal, so your perspective is somewhat narrow, but that doesn't make the message any less profound.

    VERDICT: The film saves the best for last, delivering emotional moments leading to a poignant conclusion. The story is cathartic, and the circle is completed. It occasionally fits well with the unconventional narrative style the writers employ. However, the lump in your throat makes it difficult to swallow. The build-up is superficial, and the underlying tone remains shallow. It never truly surfaces or reaches profound depths, which is unexpected when discussing Whitney Houston, the woman behind so much beauty. Unfortunately, the story doesn't serve as recognition or even a tribute, something it genuinely deserves. The film wants to dance but stumbles in its missteps. At times, the film feels fine, but for eternity, we'll remain attached to and immersed in the real story of Houston and her artistic, creative creations. The screen presentation doesn't earn a Higher Love, but that doesn't matter. We Will Always Love Her.
  • darrenhunter - 4 August 2023
    Too generic
    Stellar vocal performance from the actress portraying Whitney Houston but ultimately sanitised for a 12 rating. Too many details are glossed over to achieve the family friendly rating. Drug use and abuse by Bobby brown are only hinted at when this ultimately should have been the main part of the story. Instead we get a generic story about an amazing singer which doesn't dig into the reasons behind the drug abuse nor her relationships or indeed her psyche in enough detail. I personally found the whole film a little but dull with little to recommend other than he song performances . As some have commented this feels like only a small step up from a tv movie.
  • spartan-52039 - 10 January 2023
    Pretty damn good for fans of Whitney
    I think if you are someone already pretty familiar with Whitney Houston's story then you will love it. The casting was magnificent. The film chose to offer new perspectives on Whitney's story, I'd give it a 10 if they had chosen not to water down certain parts of Whitney's story. They seemed to want the movie to be more of a feel good story, that left audiences feeling happy. While they did seem to try their best to tell an accurate story, they maybe wanted to keep the drama to a minimum (I'll leave it at that). Overall the focus seemed to be Whitneys music and impact. The film did a wonderful job of showing what her music meant to her as well as her fans!
  • martincolquhoun - 6 January 2023
    Amazing soundtrack not so good acting.
    So the title of this movie tells you what you need to know to begin with, this is the bio-pic of the late singer Whitney houston and let me tell you movie goers this is a very good movie and I never really go for these types of movies but this one had me gripped all the way through and the music on the film was outstanding and something Whitney herself would be very proud of. Now the acting isn't the best and sometimes through the movie I was wishing that there was some big names playing some of the supporting cast, apart from great actor Stanley tucci who was immense as legendary record producer clive Davis. Naomi ackie briefly sings very little songs and what you hear is whitney's vocals adapted for cinema and we know how good her voice was hence why she was called 'the voice' in the music industry. Something I didn't know is that whitney had a female lover early in her career which was a surprise to me. The movie is up there with the bio-pic for tina turner (what's love got to do with it) starring Angela basset and Lawrence Fishbourne but not with the same level of acting. This movie is well worth a watch at the cinema.
  • Anurag-Shetty - 3 January 2023
    A beautiful celebration of Whitney Houston's life.
    Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a biopic about one of the greatest singers of all time, Whitney Houston(Naomi Ackie). It chronicles her journey from relative obscurity to when she became a musical superstar.

    Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is an awe-inspiring film. Director Kasi Lemmons has given us a biopic that perfectly captures the highs and lows of Whitney Houston's life. The concert set pieces make you feel like you're watching Whitney Houston's concert live & that makes the whole experience, breathtaking. I feel they should have told us about the lows of Whitney Houston's life, in more detail. The audience doesn't have too much context, regarding that. Naomi Ackie is spectacular as Whitney Houston. Ackie perfectly embodies every aspect of the iconic singer. Stanley Tucci is outstanding as Clive Davis. Ashton Sanders is perfect as Bobby Brown. Nafessa Williams is excellent as Robyn Crawford. Clarke Peters and Tamara Tunie are fantastic as John Houston & Cissy Houston, respectively. The supporting cast is good. Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a must watch for Whitney Houston fans. Go for it & remember why you will always love her!
  • sew223-980-765837 - 1 January 2023
    Can't say enough about this film!
    First, massive massive Whitney fan. She is the only celebrity I've ever cried over. Second, Naomi Ackie was absolutely amazing. She needs the Oscar for this pronto. She was fantastic-she had Whitney's mannerisms and slight movements down to a T.

    The movie shows a lot of aspects of Whitney's life but not all. They couldn't possibly fit all of Whitney's events in one movie. Some things that should have been a little more emphasized weren't-like how much money her daddy actually stole and the extent of her drug use. She was at the height of her coke use during the Preachers Wife.

    I was nervous about the death part but they covered that very well.

    Overall this movie is now on my top to own. Can't wait to watch this again.
  • mrglenngrant - 30 December 2022
    Puffball biopic
    I didn't think i'd like this but the ticket was free and Craig really wanted to see it so ...

    In the end I don't think it was even as good as I expected it would be. It was a very rushed run through her life hitting at various touch points but not really explaining them ... like when we first see her doing drugs. What led to this? There's very little time spent on her early career - she's just pretty suddenly world famous.

    Towards the end I also think that they were very gracious in their depiction. I seem to recall that she was a right mess towards the end of her life ... admittedly from what I remember reading in the press, etc ... but the film showed her looking as great as ever.

    I wish they'd managed to find an actress who looked a bit more like her.

    There was far too much musical performance in the film ... and the miming wasn't always that great. The last medley performance went on for way too long and the singing style made it feel like an assault on my ears.

    Stanley was great ... as always.

    Was Bobby Brown really such a total and utter a-hole?

    Felt there was a summation of the major players missing from the end of the movie ... like her mother and her daughter and manager, etc. What's the latest on them?

    31/100.
  • CarmaSharon - 29 December 2022
    The Voice
    Correction to the synopsis: A joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, THE greatest vocalists of all time.

    I just sobbed my eyes out at the theatre while watching this brilliantly crafted masterpiece. Naomi, you absolutely nailed it! Definitely an Oscar-worthy performance.

    Just when you think you have heard and seen it all from Whitney, this film takes you back in time and reminds you so well why she was called the voice.

    Excellent direction, production and acting by all.

    Ashton as Bobbie was phenomenal!

    Whitney- we will always love you. Go watch it!!
  • ChloeBird808 - 27 December 2022
    HORRIBLE!!!
    The discrepancies are too much and this was not handled with due dilligence, love or care. It was just slapped together as a quick cash grab. The casting was really bad apart from Stanley Tucci and Tamara Tunie.

    There was far too much jumping from one scene to the next and audiences were not given enough time to invest into the characters.

    I feel that there were so many loose ends, they could have easily have been tied up with a simple story explanation.

    The person writing this knew nothing about Whitney Houston or even seemed to care. The timelines and facts are all wrong. This movie just sucked to the highest order.