'Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody' (2022): A Tribute and Only That

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a movie directed by Kasi Lemmons starring Naomi Ackie.

Today we saw this biopic about the always great Whitney Houston… according to some, the singer deserved something better than this; and for others… a good chance to remember her always.

A tribute to the singer born in Newark.

About the Movie

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Another biopic? Unfortunately, yes. This genre calls for more respect for the biography than a more developed introspection of the characters and frequently settles for composing works that revolve around more or less famous fragments and lose out (almost always) in the general balance, forcing respecto ver creation.

Many are born as failures.

With all our respects (totally) for the singer, we are of the opinion that this is a movie that although it is faithful to the biography, does not manage to transmit the spirit or tell us what this woman really meant for a generation. Why? This is precisely what we find lacking (and this time around they really try), but the genre itself puts a distance from the intentionality of doing “something else” with this story.

It also does not dare to undertake the drama of her life, they hedge their bets and although they approach the rougher sides, they simply decide to not enter the darker moments of the singer (we all know about these). Maybe it is not necessary, indeed, but this way the film is a deserved tribute more than a movie to be taken more seriously.

The look of the movie does not help, it is too much a tv movie in the structure and depth.

The best part of the movie is as expected: Naomi Ackie, who is a great actress in a role, which as we say, is a delight to act in and lets one see all the talent this actress has.

Our Opinion

A tribute to the great singer that could have been much better as a movie. This movie lacks many things filmwise, in construction and artistically.

There is more of an attempt at a faithfully reproduced reality rather than the spirit of this prodigious singer in a movie that… is not prodigious exactly.

About Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston was born in Newark, NJ on August 9, 1963.

She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston and John Houston.

Her 1985 debut album, titled “Whitney Houston,” went platinum, selling more than a million copies in the United States alone.

She has sold over 200 million albums and singles worldwide throughout her career.

She is one of the most awarded female artists of all time and has won six Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards.

She was the first artist to have seven consecutive singles hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Houston starred in “The Bodyguard” in 1992 which won her an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture and a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Female Movie Actress – Drama.

She performed a rendition of the National Anthem at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 which is considered to be ‘the best national anthem performance ever given’ by many people.

She was the only artist to chart seven consecutive number one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 charts from 1985 to 1988.

In 2009, she became a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on her first year of eligibility, which made her the first female African-American artist to do so.

Director

Kasi Lemmons (born Karen Lemmons on February 24, 1961) is an American film director and actress, most notable for her work on the films Eve’s Bayou, The Caveman’s Valentine and Talk to Me. Lemmons was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of a poet/psychotherapist mother and a biology teacher father. When Lemmons was eight years old, her parents divorced, and she and her mother and two sisters moved to Newton, Massachusetts. Her mother remarried when she was nine. Her passion for movies came at an early age, but becoming a director was her goal. “I wanted to do something more meaningful than going to auditions…”