Following countless documentaries and TV specials comes the definitive dramatisation of the life of an icon, Whitney Houston. With the backing and creative input of the family and the man behind her illustrious career, ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ is a step above similar fare with a jaw-dropping central performance by Naomi Ackie.
It’s safe to say that the first trailer for this jukebox biopic really didn’t do the film any favours. It appeared to have all the showings of a Hallmark real-life drama, albeit with a much bigger budget and fancy special effects. However, when you sit and watch the film, it isn’t that film at all, but a deeply involving look at a life that celebrated tremendous success, but was also devastated by personal tragedy.
We start in the early ’80s, Whitney Houston (Ackie) an undiscovered talent, though indeed one surrounded by family members already at the top of her game – mother Sissy, cousin Dionne Warwick, and Aretha Franklin her godmother. The film wastes no time in belting through the years, just fifteen minutes into the film we’re already seeing Whitney being discovered by uber-exec Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci) and off on her road to superstardom. The rest of the film covers every beat of her life -from early success through to her movie career – yes, The Bodyguard is covered, marriage to Bobby Brown, and the birth of her daughter, and then towards the end where Whitney would be met with a tragic end.
Writer and co-producer Anthony McCarten, the Oscar-nominated producer of The Theory of Everything and The Two Popes, but, more relevant, the other big music movie biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody about Freddie Mercury and Queen. I’ve made no secret of my lack of love for that film, despite my interest in the band, but this film is absolutely a step above. It’s wonderfully acted by Ackie who is spot on with her performance as the lead, mannerisms perfect, vocal timing flawless – you would think she was belting out every note herself. Tucci too is brilliant as Davis, and there is great support from Ashton Sanders as Bobby Brown, Tamara Tunie as Sissy, Nafessa Williams as Robyn Crawford, and the great Clarke Peters as Whitney’s father, John Houston.
It’s a long film, clocking in at nearly two hours, but there’s so much to tell and McCarten’s script might just try too hard at packing it all in. Pretty much everything of Whitney’s life is touched upon and the depth of the film might suffer a little from skimming over certain aspects of the story. Slimmed down to a more confined period of her life may have worked better, but this obviously isn’t what the filmmakers were after. That said, Kasi Lemmons’ great direction, along with some stunning visuals created to transport us back to Houston’s heyday at the 1994 AMAs – a defining period of her career – and that performance of the American national anthem at the 25th Super Bowl, along with many others, make this well worth the visit of this ultimately tragic tale of a superstar taken too soon.
Bonus-wise, there are a few extras worth checking out. We get three short featurettes, all running sub ten minutes in length, the most interesting being the first one; which shows off the work and features an interview with movement coach Polly Bennett, who also worked with Rami Malek and Austin Butler to bring Freddie MErcury and Elvis to life in their respective movies. There’s also a look at the close family and friends who worked on the film who were once close with Whitney herself bringing that ‘personal touch’ to the movie. There are also skip-to-song ‘jukebox’ options and some deleted scenes. Decent enough, but we’d have loved to have seen them stretched a bit longer.
All in all, a solid release of a decent biopic which, while not climbing to the hefty heights of similar films like the previously-released Rocketman or Elvis, quite nicely tells the tale of Houston and her short life where she achieved so much.
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody is now available to rent, buy and keep on digital, and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on 13th March. You can purchase it here.
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody
Summary
A worthy biopic of an icon, brilliantly performed by Naomi Ackie in a star-making role.
