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Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Music · Drama · 2022

The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time. Tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.

Movie details

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

“Celebrate the untold story of an icon.”

2022 Music · Drama 2h 24m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time. Tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Kasi Lemmons

Written by

Anthony McCarten

Naomi Ackie

Naomi Ackie

Whitney Houston

Ashton Sanders

Ashton Sanders

Bobby Brown

Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci

Clive Davis

Nafessa Williams

Nafessa Williams

Robyn Crawford

Lance A. Williams

Lance A. Williams

Gerry Griffith

Tamara Tunie

Tamara Tunie

Cissy Houston

Clarke Peters

Clarke Peters

John Houston

Court is in session

Put Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.