I Wanna Dance With Somebody – An Average Checklist Biopic

Unfortunately, a recent trend has arisen where biopics, especially those of famous singers or musicians, are merely interested in checking off key invents off of a Wikipedia-type checklist rather than developing connections with audiences by telling a compelling story that honors their subjects. The result amounts to a collection of scenes instead of actual films. I Wanna Dance With Somebody or The Whitney Houston Movie: I Wanna Dance With Somebody or Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody is one of those films. If the title is of any indication, this is a film about Whitney Houston albeit one in the broadest sense possible. A collection of scenes, the film seems more focused on jumping from event to event instead of actually telling a story. That connection between Houston and audiences is never there as she (and Naomi Ackie who plays Houston) didn’t truly get a chance while handcuffed by a mediocre script using melodrama and derivative plot beats in order to elicit the emotion it consistently fails to do. That being said, among those scenes are some strong moments including various performances from Houston which were admittedly Ackie lip-syncing to archival Houston vocals. Ackie tries her best to bridge that gap, however, there’s only so much she can do.

As mentioned, I Wanna Dance With Somebody is more interested in going from point A to point B without showing much concern for what happens in between as it follows Houston (Ackie) from her humble beginning as a backup singer for her mother and first vocal coach Cissy (Tamara Tunie) to global superstar she became because of her incredible vocal range until her untimely death in 2012. Of course, there were some steps along the way with the biggest one being her relationship with legendary music producer Clive Davis (Tucci) who saw her potential right away and quickly became a close friend and confidant. Though as far as that relationship was concerned, it was all about the music until it wasn’t. Houston undoubtedly had the talent but first she had to find her voice. After getting past the usual trials and tribulations, she found stardom essentially right away choosing songs written for her to sing though not everyone was a fan. Meanwhile, her career was a family affair which included Cissy who was unsuccessful at achieving a music career of her own and her manager father John (Clarke Peters) whose motivations were arguably skewed. Ultimately, with fame came increased scrutiny of her personal life and her relationship with her best friend Robin (Nafessa Williams). It was all about her public image and it was seen as a detriment.

Things started to shift for Houston upon meeting Bobby Brown (Sanders) for whom she hit it off with instantly. Adding him to the equation helped drive a wedge between her and Robin. Underneath the surface, the relationship was toxic but was more favorable in the public eye as the true cost of Houston’s stardom came trickling to the surface. Devolving into predictable melodramatic conflict, the film does get silly. But with every fall, there is a rise and hers was not an easy one. Those more familiar with Houston’s story will not be surprised in any way by what happens throughout the film; however, this section was still somewhat sad to watch in spite of the film’s predictable biopic structure. Sanitized for the most part in terms of emotion, audiences are kept at arm’s length as it jumps from event to event and checking them off the list. Everything comes off as so ordinary and unremarkable that it’s hard to care about any of it. Running at nearly 2.5 hours, the lack of coherence becomes tiresome. At the end of the day, there will always be a portion of audiences who are there for the music and for that, the film does not disappoint. Recreating a series of famous Houston performances, the production value was there as those sequences were entertaining to watch until the bad GCI crowd becomes a distraction.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the best part of I Wanna Dance With Somebody is Ackie’s spectacular performance as Houston in spite of the mediocre script. While mostly lip-syncing, she nonetheless captures the energy and essence of the singer at least whenever she was allowed to do anything. Feeling more like a character in another story more the main character of her own story, one can’t help but be disappointed by her unrealized potential had she have been given a better script. The chemistry between her and Tucci was a highlight as was Tunie as Cissy Houston. A miscast Sanders and Peters were underused as Bobby Brown and John Houston with the former being more baffling considering his role in Houston’s life.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody or whatever it’s called is a misfire whose ordinary nature fails to make it standout in any way. Fans of Houston may find some entertainment here but there are plenty of better options out there. It’s not good or bad, just unworthy.

*still courtesy of Tristar Pictures*

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.