Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Review: The Challenge of Portraying Whitney Houston on Screen!
The biopic “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” is about the life of singer Whitney Houston. It was written and directed by Kasi Lemmons. Naomi Ackie, Stanley Tucci, Ashton Sanders, Tamara Tunie, Nafessa Williams, and Clarke Peters are some of the big names in the movie’s cast. The movie was made by Denis O’Sullivan, Jeff Kalligheri, Anthony McCarten, Pat Houston, Clive Davis, Larry Mestel, Molly Smith, Thad Luckinbill, Trent Luckinbill, Matt Jackson, Christina Papagjika, and Matthew Salloway.
Barry Ackroyd is in charge of the camera work, and Daysha Broadway cuts the film. The music for the movie was written by Chanda Dancy. TriStar Pictures, Compelling Pictures, Black Label Media, Primary Wave Entertainment, Muse of Fire Productions, West Madison Entertainment, and TSG Entertainment II all worked together to make “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” The movie will come out on December 23, 2022, in the United States. It is being put out by Sony Pictures Releasing. The movie runs for 146 minutes, and English is the language used.
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Review
Given that Whitney Houston’s life and career were perfect for a movie (she had a stellar rise, glittering success, and a tragic fall), the biggest surprise is that it took so long for the always-hungry music biopic industry to use her as a subject. It’s not surprising at all that this film, which sticks to a formula, can’t capture even a small amount of Houston’s electrifying sparkle when she was at the top of her game. The music mogul Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci), whose comb-over was just blown off his bald head by the young Whitney’s voice, says that she had a voice that only comes around once every generation.
Not surprisingly, the film mostly uses Houston’s voice, and Naomi Ackie, a British actor who plays the main role, lip-syncs pretty well. But Houston was much more than just an amazing singer. Her presence on stage, her style, and her winning charm all came together to make something new. Something that Ackie doesn’t always catch.
It’s important to note that the problem isn’t necessarily with Ackie. Instead, it’s with Anthony McCarten’s screenplay, which is slow and predictable. This is the same method he used with Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. And director Kasi Lemmons seems happy to move quickly through the early part of Houston’s life in a long montage. He only slows down to get into the story once Houston’s addiction has taken hold, her marriage is falling apart, and her downfall has begun.
I Wanna Dance With Somebody and a lot of other music biopics share this slightly sleazy interest in the fall from fame. But unlike, say, Walk the Line or Ray, there isn’t a story arc that shows how things get better in the end. At the end of the movie, Lemmons doesn’t show Houston’s death. Instead, he shows a flashback to a high point in the singer’s career, even though there are a few too many close-ups of dripping bath taps. It’s a strong trick, but it doesn’t feel completely real.
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Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Trailer
Final Words
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody ReviewWhitney Houston’s life and career were perfect for a movie, but it took so long for the industry to use her as a subject. Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is slow and predictable, with a story arc that doesn’t show how things get better in the end.
