Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

A disappointing film robbed of its enjoyment by its length of 2 hours, 26 minutes.

This will be a short review given the boring nature of the entire film. Following Ms. Houston’s life from her discovery in 1983 to her death in 2012, the movie amounts to little more than following her destruction from drug abuse.

Naomi Ackie gives a credible performance was Whitney. The highlights showed her singing the National Anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl and her concert performance for Nelson Mandela in 1994 following his release from prison.

Sadly, this lengthy movie largely centers on her relationship with her caring mother Cissy (Tamara Tunie) and demanding father John (Clarke Peters) who controls her schedule and finances. Quite frankly, the only memorable performances are from Nafessa Williams as Robyn, her gay assistant and lover, and Stanley Tucci as Clive Davis, the record producer who discovered her and helped her select songs.

Whitney died after losing control of her life with husband Bobby Brown (Aston Sanders). She gradually became lost to the music world despite her dynamic songs in the 1990’s and her several movie roles.

Go see her star with Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard (1992) and skip this movie.