I Wanna Dance with Somebody highlights the LGBTQ+ aspects of Whitney Houston

Born in 1963 in Newark, New Jersey, Whitney Elizabeth Houston's mother was gospel singer Cissy Houston and her father was apparently the devil. She began singing in the church and then started modeling. Under the tutelage of Arista Records chairman Clive Davis, her music career exploded and then acting roles followed with The Bodyguard that catapulted her into the stratosphere. Her demise in 2012 left the world a much sadder place and I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a public reminder of her legacy.

British actress Naomi Ackie lip-synchs for her life as Whitney Houston and excels at some of the smaller personal moments throughout the tale of rising to stardom. Ackie prepared for at least eight months for this role of a lifetime and it must have been a daunting task for the 30-year-old Londoner.

It's a good look for Davis played by Stanley Tucci throughout the story showing how he was an important father figure in Houston's life especially when her birthfather leads her astray. Davis was okay with her being a cover singer and observing the behind-the-scenes as they pick out tracks that spoke to her vision was a treat to see.

There are many surprising moments throughout I Wanna Dance with Somebody such as the disdain for her public image which is parodied in a flashy music video and wardrobe stylings. Wearing pants was not her thing and was just another example of her being pushed into someone else's idea of what a person should be.

Houston's relationship with her “best friend” Robyn Crawford was not easy to define but to continually ignore it or erase it is a real tragedy. The archived footage documentaries Whitney and Whitney: Can I Be Me plus Crawford's books brought attention to what really happened. This biopic doesn't shy away from these facts and the depiction of a gay fan working as a bartender by Elegance Bratton matters.

The Black community wasn't kind to her until later in her career and people still being shocked about her sexuality shows we haven't progressed enough as a society in 2022. By being forced into a heteronormative box she suffered and things grew more complicated when she tried to create a storybook life with Bobby Brown who was clearly not the one for her.

Her fate was sealed as she turned to drugs to deal with her depression and troubled family life.

Some critics are already hard on this film because Ackie doesn't sing the tracks, such as Austin Butler did in Elvis, but her personification of the complicated artist is well done overall. This film has too much ground to cover but this project gives viewers an idea of one of the greatest singers of all.

Some will feel “So Emotional” as I Wanna Dance with Somebody hits theaters on December 23, 2022.