Whitney Houston has already been the main subject of two renowned documentaries: Can I Be Me? and Whitney which has had striking effects on viewers around the world. Each delved into the trials and tribulations of singer Whitney Houston, who has recently been named as the second best singer of all time in the Rolling Stone Top 200 list. What is initially striking in these documentaries is how they show the good, the bad, and the ugly.
This is what the new music biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody lacks more than anything, it is almost a PG version of Whitney’s life. An nearly 144-minute narrative is avoidant on key issues like drug use, domestic abuse, and the struggles of religion. It bothered me immensely how these were so noticeably absent.
However, British actor Naomi Ackie does her very best work in the role of Houston. Even though Whitney’s original voice is used for the musical numbers, which is incredibly nostalgic and enjoyable for viewers. Her most famous works like It’s Not Right But It’s Ok, My Name is Not Susan, and of course I Wanna Dance With Somebody demonstrate the sheer talent of Houston and reminds us why she was so amazing.
The film denies that Whitney had a downfall at all, ignoring sell-out accusations, family strife, intense drug addiction, and her alleged extremely volatile and abusive relationship with music ‘bad boy’, Bobby Brown. Of the difficulties that are included, these are criminally glossed over.
Accusations of Whitney being in a relationship with her best friend and assistant Robyn Crawford is shown on screen for all of five minutes and even then this is forgotten very quickly.
Equally, it is never mentioned that Houston’s daughter Kristina died herself just three years after Whitney in a similar grim way. Nor does the film divulge the alleged sexual abuse she faced as a child.
In other places, the big scenes and moments are delivered upon, especially when it comes to the big performances at the Super bowl in 1991. But a biopic like this usually runs in four key stages: difficult beginnings, initial success, the climax, and a redemptive comeback.
Unfortunately Whitney’s story cannot give us the last of these and the film averts the gaze from her grim fate in that hotel room in 2012. It prefers a cyclical take back to the triumph of Whitney’s performance at the 1994 American Music Awards, deemed the best live musical performance of all time by many.
The important questions that we expect from a film like this are never answered. Was Whitney a gay woman? Did her agonies rise from being denied her R&B genius in favour of being a pop princess for the white audience? Did her family encourage drug usage to relieve stress of touring and making more money?
These are touched so gingerly it’s frustrating. With Ackie as the exception, nobody stands out enough to make this biopic memorable. I Wanna Dance With Somebody is the musical soundtrack of Whitney’s career through rose tinted glasses.
1.5/5