Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody - Movie Reviews (2024)

Ever so tidy, tying up loose ends that many Houston fans and onlookers likely wondered about in her final years and beyond. The resolutions did not always feel genuine, however, and at times seemed quite rushed.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Aug 10, 2024

It's miraculous that a movie penned by the screenwriter of Bohemian Rhapsody would be worth watching, but Kasi Lemmons continues to prove she is a highly versatile filmmaker/actor whose imprint on cinema will be felt for decades to come.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Mar 6, 2024

It wasn’t gay enough, but that it was gay at all gives me hope we’ll get this part of her story done right some day.

Full Review | Feb 13, 2024

I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a disservice to the memory of Whitney Houston. Make a playlist, watch videos, dance to her music. That’s a better way to remember her.

Full Review | Sep 6, 2023

“Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody” has broad, nostalgic appeal – because who doesn’t want to take a break and listen to Whitney’s greatest hits for two-plus hours with period-perfect re-creations of music videos and performances?

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 16, 2023

You get the sense that someone handed screenwriter Anthony McCarten (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) a studio note that simply read, “Play the hits.”

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 9, 2023

This one is far from being the best biopic I’ve seen, despite the cast's committed performances. Glad they opted to use Houston's real voice, as it would be impossible to imitate THAT.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 8, 2023

Whitney Houston fans won't want to miss this combo pack revealing glimpses of the person behind the star. A must-have for any true fan.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 2, 2023

WHITNEY HOUSTON: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY is like the SparkNotes of [Houston's] life, a smattering of collected moments that feel hollow.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Feb 21, 2023

... It lacks the necessary intensity that the portrait of one of the most emblematic singers of the 90s, considered "The Voice" of an entire generation, deserved. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Feb 9, 2023

I Want to Dance With Somebody exposes its protagonist's descent, but never really asks what led to this unexpected and abrupt end... [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 9, 2023

But, and in I Want to Dance With Somebody there is more than one 'but', everything or almost everything gets lost, it vanishes, blurs. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Feb 9, 2023

Lemmons and screenwriter Anthony McCarten never get to the truth about Whitney, piecing together one scene after another after another... like writing a pop song with lyrics, melody and rhythm, but without a hook.

Full Review | Feb 8, 2023

... Covers the life and work of the late artist in autopilot, embracing each and every cliché of the genre. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Feb 8, 2023

The story is good but the musical numbers are amazing.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Feb 3, 2023

As good as Ackie was, the final moments of the film for anyone who has seen the 1994 American Music Awards love medley only highlights the distance between her and Whitney...

Full Review | Jan 30, 2023

Content with staying in expected territory... makes for a rousing yet routine addition to the music biopic canon.

Full Review | Jan 26, 2023

There’s never a false note in Naomi Ackie’s performance...it feels effortless, avoiding any sense of imitation, she fully inhabits the role...Ackie really sells it, as she lip syncs for her life, capturing Whitney’s on-stage presence, passion, and spirit.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 16, 2023

It’s just completely mediocre and not worth your time.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Jan 13, 2023

I Wanna Dance with Somebody breaks my cardinal rule of biopics that I have mentioned time and time again. It tells too big of a story without getting specific about anything.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 11, 2023