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Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody Blu-ray Review

“Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody” is everything wrong with biopics rolled into one film. 

Biopics on musicians and artists are frequent these days and “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody” is among the latest releases. The film begins in 1983 in New Jersey from Whitney’s days as a choir girl and quickly jumps into her becoming a pro singer that is discovered and signed by legendary music producer Clive Davis. From there on out, the story jumps around to the creation of her hit songs, her family and friends, her marriage to Bobby Brown, her iconic performances and music videos, and her struggles with drugs. 

At one point in the Kasi Lemmons directed “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” Whitney is on the phone and exclaims “I wanna do a movie.” That’s the kind of lazy and slapped together biopic this is. Instead of telling an overarching story about Houston’s life, the Anthony McCarten scripted story feels more like one long rushed montage in which things just happen instantly. And long it is as the runtime clocks in at 144 minutes. McCarten makes no attempt to go outside the standard biopic conventions and instead merely mimics them.

Even as a theatrical feature, ‘Whitney Houston’ looks and feels cheap and bears more of a resemblance to a phony and formulaic TV movie. You’d never know this movie had a reported $45 million budget. Perhaps a good chunk of the budget went to music licensing which at least offered up real Whitney Houston songs?

The only saving grace is a trio of quality performances here. Naomi Ackie (best known for “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker,” “Lady Macbeth,” and “Master of None”) gets a big breakout role here as Whitney Houston and takes advantage of it. She does her best to carry the slog of a movie. Nafessa Williams (who really should be a bigger star) shines as Whitney’s friend, assistant and one time lover. Having been unaware of Robyn and Whitney’s dynamic, that proved to be far and away the most intriguing element of the movie. Stanley Tucci classes up the movie as Clive Davis (the real Davis also acts as a producer on the film). The man could read an email and still be great. 

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. Grade: A-

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. Grade: A-

Extras:
* Digital copy
* 6 deleted scenes
* Sony previews
* “The Personal Touch”- Interviews with those who knew Whitney Houston.
* “Whitney’s Jukebox” gives you the ability to jump to a song.
* “Becoming Whitney”- A look at Naomi Ackie’s transformation into becoming Whitney Houston.
* “Moments Of An Icon”- A behind-the-scenes look at recreating moments/performances.

March 2, 2023 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Biopic, Clive Davis, Naomi Ackie, Whitney Houston, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody Blu-ray Review