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
  • jacksonrenard - 10 February 2024
    Misinformation of interpretation Whitney Houston
    On my intellectual aspect of the movie was a good ideal. Eventually it was going to critique and so forth. I was expecting to see a closer resemblance with character although role was deserved. My reaction was formal to the aspect of this is a Biographies of many to Stargate Stars. Containerized decisions made me want to speech on on epoint of familiarize looks are important 🤔.

    Let the realities of a regular mentor be the spectator here. Opinions matter due to one's judgment of what is, to whom see there logic is over pompous facts. I want to see and feel a movie to know you try your best to make this work and don't JUST BECAUSE through another relationship.
  • dk777 - 6 September 2023
    With A Better Director, This Film Would Be Spectacular
    This movie would have been great, if only it had a better director.

    Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to matter anymore if someone is capable or not in Hollywood. This really could have been one of those movies that become a classic, considering Whitney Houston was a great singer.

    The actors did their job solidly, but the director is not good enough, that's why the film turned out to be of mediocre quality in the end.

    It looked cheap at times, and the direction was mediocre at best. A better director would make a spectacular movie out of this story.

    Whitney Houston was an interesting person and a great singer, and it's a real shame that this movie turned out like this.

    The actors are not bad, and Stanley Tucci shines in the role of Clive Davis. Not only does he look like him, but he also moves and talks like him.

    Naomi Ackie is solid as Whitney Houston, of course she doesn't look like her, but that's almost impossible anyway.

    The film is watchable, but the direction lowered the impression and it is noticeable that in the end the film turned out to be only a mediocre achievement, while it could have been great.

    This is just another missed opportunity though.
  • brenster-26348 - 8 August 2023
    Nothing to see here folks....move along
    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.
  • andrasrapli - 10 January 2023
    A missed shot
    If Whitney was in fact this big voice, "The Voice", then she really does not deserve this shallow and boring representation of her life. I bet there are details, which could've been expressed way more movie-like fashion. Seriously, family fights, alcohol, drug abuse, and the movie became this flat? A high school storyteller could've done better. Cmon. There are already good movies on Lady Gaga and Queen, feels like they got on the money train and wanted to put this out, grab some cash and fade away. A tell you what, this will definitely fade away in the movie history. A very long YouTube music video I would quit in the middle.
  • Mers_Mers_Mers - 6 January 2023
    Not good enough
    It's a nice movie but it could definitely be better.

    Hearing her sing in a movie theater is just plain bizarre. Lots of live vocals in the movie. Just bizarre what Whitney could do on stage. At times, I really stared open-mouthed and I also teared up because her voice is just incredible.

    But the film itself is quite superficial in terms of story and the timeline keeps getting mixed up. Some things are wrong, a lot isn't told. The film hops from event to event without really telling much. The historical greatness of some moments is also not really portrayed. And they skipped quite a lot of songs.

    The whole story about her as an artist and her musicality didn't go beyond her voice. Of course the best voice ever (unparalleled live vocals as far as I'm concerned) but there was more. How she produced her music. Her sublime stage presence. Being a (fashion) icon. The fact that broke the barriers for dark artists. The influence she has on music in general. The soul and gospel she brought to pop music. Her impact was huge, they didn't really show that.

    Naomi does a great job. She got the mannerisms and sometimes when they shot from behind it was as if you saw Whitney. She also managed to speak like Whitney very well. But I didn't think they captured Whitney's stage precence. I'm not sure if that was Naomi's fault. I'd rather say it's something left out in the movie.

    Stanley Tucci does a great job as Clive Davis and I don't know why we don't talk about her more, but Tamara Tunie really impressed me as Cissy Houston.

    I did like the fact they showed the relationship with Whitney and Robyn Crawford had.

    Another highlight was at the beginning when Cissy noticed Clive Davis was in the audience where she and Whitney would be performing. Cissy faked a soar throat and told Whitney to sing the first solo. This scene, acted wonderfully by Tamara Tunie, just touched me so much. The scene then moves on to Greatest Love Of All. Wonderful and very emotional.

    Long story short: A fun movie to watch but it falls short to be a great biopic.
  • tatyanaspammm - 3 January 2023
    IS THIS WHAT WHITNEY WOULD WANT?
    The Film is super disrespectful to Whitney to basically out on she never publicly confirmed this so called relationship with Robin. This film is disrespectful to Whitney's legacy and also her marriage. Whitney should be treated with more respect to who she was as a singer, mother, and yes even God believer powerhouse human. Instead of making Whitney look like the loving mother, daughter ,friend she looks like a trapped lesbian.

    The Movie did nothing but make Whitney look like a coward lesbian that was forced and trapped into a marriage Would she want to be remembered as that?????? Such a shame!
  • stevendbeard - 1 January 2023
    Greatest Voice Of Her Generation
    I saw Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, starring Naomi Ackie-Star Wars: Episode 9_The Rise of Skywalker, Lady Macbeth_2016; Stanley Tucci-The King's Man, Transformers: The Last Knight; Tamara Tunie-See_tv, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit_tv and Ashton Sanders-The Equalizer 2, Straight Outta Compton.

    This is a biography of Whitney Houston, who has been called the greatest voice of her generation-not by me, but by other people. Now, I know people have different opinions on music-and other things too, for that matter-so let me say right off the bat, I am not a fan of Whitney's music. My wife wanted to see this movie so I took her. There are 1 or 2 songs that I have heard of Whitney's that I liked but I didn't hear them in this movie. Naomi plays Whitney, who started as a back up singer to Tamara, her mother. Stanley plays Clive Davis, a record producer that gave Naomi her big break after hearing her sing. Ashton plays Bobby Brown, who married Naomi and intensified her drug use. At the end of the movie they talk about how Whitney died but it is not shown on screen. If you are wondering about the singing in the movie, about 95% of the time, it is the voice of the real Whitney Houston.

    It's rated PG-13 for language, drug use, smoking and sexual content-no nudity-and has a running time of 2 hours & 24 minutes.

    It's not one that I would buy on Blu_Ray, but if you are a fan, it would be a good one to stream.
  • eiredfk - 30 December 2022
    ...and Best Actress Oscar 2022 goes to...
    ...Naomi Ackie, for 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody'

    Brilliant, Brilliant Brilliant!!!

    Having read some of the LONG users 'reviews' here, I wondered if they were doing a Masters on the movie, as they analysed it TO DEATH!! Total overkill! It is just a movie!!!!

    A fabulous one too! As a huge Whitney fan even I heard some songs I cannot say I was familiar with, ie: Whitney on Merv Griffen!

    Having lived in America from before the world knew of The Voice to-be, it was wonderful to relive on celluloid Whitney's rise to stardom!

    Throughout the movie the performances were fantastic, but it was always on my mind how this did not have a happy ending, for either Whitney or her daughter!

    Stanley Tucci was spot-on as Clive Davis, and all performances were ace!

    I highly recommend this movie!
  • tm-sheehan - 29 December 2022
    Entertaining and Tragic
    My Review - I Wanna Dance with Somebody My Rating 8/10

    If you haven't heard of Whitney Houston known as "The Voice" and I doubt anyone who listens to a radio hasn't please don't read further as my review this time contains a spoiler or two.

    Whitney Houston still holds the Guinness Book of Records for the most awarded female recording artist of all time with over 400 awards to her name. In her relatively short career her first four albums, released between 1985 and 1992, amassed global sales in excess of 86 million copies.

    Of course I knew a little of Whitney Houston's fame and early her tragic death at age 48 from a drowning accident due to a drug overdose but confess I wasn't a great fan of her genre of pop music however I thought she had a magnificent range of voice .

    There are two scenes in I Wanna Dance With Somebody that for me whether intentional or not also reflect Whitney Houston's life .

    It may sound odd to say that that Doris Day and Whitney had anything in common but the scene in the film where Whitney Houston is watching the classic 1955 Love Me or Leave Me the biopic movie of another famous recording artist of the 1930's and 1940's Ruth Etting who was bullied and mismanaged by her violent gangster manager.

    That scene reminded me of Marty Melcher ,Doris Day's husband and manager who embezzled millions of dollars that she had earned throughout their marriage because of poor investments thar left her deeply in debt. The comparison to Whitney Houston is that her father and Manager John Houston played in the film by Clarke Peters did exactly the same thing to his daughter.

    The difference between the two women ends there as Doris sued her late husbands business manager and won a huge multi million dollar settlement then retired and lived a long and happy life.

    The second scene in this movie that I thought compared to Whitney was her wonderful rendition of the song Home from the Broadway musical The Wiz based on Judy Garlands 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz.

    What did Whitney Huston and Judy Garland have in common ?

    They were both idolised by their fans ,they both craved attention , they both became a commodity and were used and misused by studios as cash cows or geese that laid golden eggs and because of their addictions and insecurities both died early.

    Judy Garland died at age 47 and Whitney Houston died at only 48 years old both from drug related symptoms both left children behind and both only had a shadow of their superb vocal range left.

    That's all you really need to know about the plot of I Wanna Dance with Somebody it's a tragedy to see such a wonderful talent blessed with a talented family that included her mother Cissy Huston and cousins Dionne Warwick and opera singer Leontyne Price .

    Whitney Huston destroyed herself with drugs and alcohol abuse aided by mismanagement and poor taste in her husband Bobby Brown .

    If only she had stayed with her first lover Robyn Crawford who stayed loyal to the end . Nafessa Williams is excellent in her role as Robyn portraying one of the few loyal and trustworthy friends in Whitney's life.

    Naomi Ackie is wonderful as Whitney and lip synchs perfectly the songs in the movie she really evokes the spirit and vulnerability of this famous entertainer.

    It's an all to familiar story told before in the stories of Aretha Franklin, Billy Holliday ,Amy Winehouse,Janice Joplin and many other artists with addiction problems.

    Stanley Tucci gives another great performance as Clive Davis the recording executive who signs up Whitney to a recording contract and introduces her to her greatest hits including Dolly Parton's composition and hit originally recorded by Dolly in 1973 I Will Always Love You which is estimated at earning $20 million becoming the best selling single by a female artist of all time.

    Clive Davis if he's correctly portrayed always supported his star recording artist urging her to go to rehab and slow down her tour schedule while her father seemed to just use his daughter as a meal ticket causing her to amass huge debts which added to her stress.

    I enjoyed this film it's not what I'd call great but it's very good and that due to the wonderful performances by Naomi Ackie and Stanley Tucci.

    With an estimated USD 45,000,000 production budget it's not performing well early in its release at the movie Box Office but it deserves to its well worth seeing at a Cinema near you .
  • CinemaSerf - 27 December 2022
    Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody
    I wonder why they added her name to the title? Might that be because the film makers knew that the "legacy" of this once celebrated singer has already largely wained? I can't think when I last heard one of her songs on the radio. Bigger than the "Beatles"? Well Naomi Ackie puts her heart and soul into this performance but do we ever see her tinkle on a piano, pick up a guitar, bang a tambourine even? Right from the start when she is discovered by established impresario (and one of this film's producers) Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci) we learn that she doesn't write songs. So what is there for us to remember? This film proceeds to tell us a rather sad and shallow story of a woman born into musical royalty who seems to lurch from one bad decision to another - fuelled by a confused sexuality, booze, drugs and ambition - a toxic mix for anyone to deal with. This highly speculative narrative doesn't try to give any depth to any of the characters. It doesn't try to involve us in the stresses faced by this woman who had the world beneath her feet for a while, but for whom it was all too much - especially when she discovers that those closest to her are betraying and/or embezzling from her. It asks us to be sympathetic but gives us few insights into what made her tick. The brief and superficial scenes with her wayward husband Bobby Brown (Ashton Sanders) are whirlwind in nature and so it's hardly surprising when he turns out to be wrong for her. The competent Tucci comes across as a benign, gentle, benefactor but again, there is little of substance to his role as he seems powerless to stop her descending into a maelstrom of despair and illness. The real story of this inspirational singer is full of twists, turns, successes and failures. Her emotional life was just about as turbulent as it is possible to get. Yet this film is sterile and procedural. I didn't feel involved, I didn't really feel that I cared for her very much. On the plus side, we are reminded on occasion of her brilliant original songs and astonishing vocal range (though Miss Ackie doesn't do the singing) and are reminded of just how good an entertainer she was, but I saw this on my own in a cinema and maybe that says quite a lot about the quality of this rather underwhelming and chronological biopic that could have been so much better had it focused more on the talents of this remarkable woman and less on the associated melodrama.