I Wanna Dance with Somebody, 2022.
Directed by Kasi Lemmons.
Starring Naomi Ackie, Ashton Sanders, Stanley Tucci, Nafessa Williams, Lance A. Williams, Tamara Tunie, Clarke Peters, Daniel Washington, JaQuan Malik Jones, Kris Sidberry, Tanner Beard, Bailee Lopes, Jennifer Ellis, Bria Danielle Singleton, Adrian M. Mompoint, Dave Heard, Jaison Hunter, Luke Crory, Lynn Leger, Elegance Bratton, Ernst Berrouet, and Kelvin Coffey.
SYNOPSIS:
A celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.
While on top of the world, soulful pop sensation Whitney Houston (played with livewire emotion by Naomi Ackie) signed on to star alongside Kevin Costner in 1992’s The Bodyguard. If Kasi Lemmons’ biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody is to be trusted (although I don’t trust anything written by Bohemian Rhapsody scribe Anthony McCarten), noble record producer (a rarity among the profession, especially among Black artists) Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci) raises concern that the character doesn’t get to do enough singing, which in turn doesn’t allow her to showcase an expensive personality. As a result, Whitney Houston covered Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You, and the rest is history.
Those suggestions may have worked for that movie, but certainly don’t for I Wanna Dance with Somebody, a film where Kasi Lemons seems to be under the impression that having Naomi Ackie sing and perform on screen as much as possible is the most effective way to get to the core of Whitney Houston as a person. It’s not, and more often than not feels like shameless pandering despite the strength of the central performance. Songs end up in Whitney’s life through cringe happenstance and are performed on the nose at the most convenient times, serving the amount of depth the filmmakers are willing to dig.
The one positive here is that the songs still sound amazing (Naomi Ackie lip-syncs to the voice of Whitney Houston), but with so much time spent there, it comes at the expense of meaningfully developing various relationships with important family figures and best friends in her life. That’s also a shame, considering the first 15 minutes or so start on the right foot, introducing a tough love dynamic with Whitney receiving strict singing lessons from her mother, Cissy Houston (Tamara Tunie), which sucks the fun out of the enjoyment she does find in it. Whitney also befriends supportive athlete Robyn (Nafessa Williams), with the two finding themselves very close, something that John Houston (Clarke Peters) disapproves of for religious reasons and how it will affect her career in the eyes of the public perception.
From the moment the parents are introduced in a shouting match, it also, unfortunately, becomes clear that I Wanna Dance with Somebody lacks subtlety, opting for broad portraits of these real people. Eventually, parental enforcement drives a wedge between Whitney and Robyn (although they remain friends), with the former entering her bad-boy affection phase and getting involved with hip-hop singer Bobby Brown (Ashton Sanders.) No spoiler alert is necessary regarding how Bobby Brown impacted her life, but the performance from Ashton Sanders (an otherwise terrific actor) is so painfully one note that one wonders if he thought he was in a parody of Whitney Houston’s life rather than a biopic.
There’s also a late hospital sequence between Whitney and her father that ranks among one of the most ridiculous scenes, but in defense of the film, at least there’s a throughline to latch onto in how dad was the greedy, opportunistic, traitorous, selfish one in contrast to Clive’s professionalism as a business partner and genuine fatherly care during her life’s harsher times, going back on his rule of interfering in the personal lives of his signed talent. To the credit of Naomi Ackie and Stanley Tucci, any scene letting them act alongside one another is generally compelling.
The screenplay also suffers from Bohemian Rhapsody syndrome, not remotely interested in tackling drug abuse without softening the edges. This film is constantly boasting glossy photography, the kind that’s too pristine for a story teetering on darkness, falling in line with the unambitious MO of giving the audience a good time. That is until the final 30 minutes, which address drug addiction, but in such a sanitized fashion that it’s a wonder and testament to Naomi Ackie as a performer that it comes across as tragic and moving.
Songs in a Whitney Houston biopic are crucial, but for I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Kasi Lemmons heavily leans on them as a crutch to cover up bland Wikipedia-summary filmmaking and shallow explorations of Whitney’s life and those within her sphere.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
