‘Houston’ a fascinating look Into her life

Nicknamed “The Voice,” late singer/actress Whitney Houston was one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of more than 200 million records worldwide. Houston received numerous accolades throughout her career and posthumously, including two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards and 28 Guinness World Records.

Sadly, the singer’s life was cut short on Feb. 11, 2012. Now, fans everywhere can see her life story on the big screen with ‘Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.’

Discovered by record executive Clive Davis, Houston rises from obscurity to international fame in the 1980s to become one of the greatest singers of her generation.

‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ is an entertaining, fascinating look at the life of the late singer, Whitney Houston. This docudrama delivers great performances and, of course, incredible music.

Naomi Ackie did a remarkable job portraying Houston. The actress got the singer’s mannerisms down perfectly and also did a great job during the singing sequences. Ackie reportedly did lip sync in most of the moments that featured Houston singing, yet you can’t really notice at all. I mean, no one can really sing Whitney Houston’s songs as well as Houston herself.

The film also dives into the numerous ups and downs that happened during her successful career. The latter half of the film puts some of the focus on the start of the late singer’s addiction, which is sadly what cut her life short. Stanley Tucci also does a great job as well as record producer Clive Davis, who was there for Houston from the beginning of her career.

This truly great look at her life and career can be quite moving. When you see in the first half of the film where Houston started her career, you see how passionate she was with her music. Once you see her addiction slowly taking over, you actually begin to hope she can overcome it (despite knowing she doesn’t).

Overall, this drama is an emotional little film about her life that anyone who has enjoyed her music and films will really enjoy. The music is great and Ackie did a fantastic job.Surely, the actress didn’t look identical to the singer. But her acting is still amazing. So, don’t miss ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ at the Dietrich.

The cast: Naomi Ackie as Houston; Ashton Sanders as Bobby Brown; Tamara Tunie as Cissy Houston; Nafessa Williams as Robyn Crawford; Clark Peters as John Houston; Daniel Washington as Gary Houston; Dave Heard as Rickey Minor; Bria Danielle Singleton as Bobbi Kristina (16-19 years old) and Stanley Tucci as Clive Davis.

‘Dance with Somebody’ is written by Andrew McCarten (Netflix’s The Two Popes; Bohemian Rhapsody) and directed by Kasi Lemmons (Harriet; Black Nativity).

‘Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ is rated PG-13 for strong drug content, some strong language, smoking and suggestive references and has a running time of 146 minutes.

Let me know on my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews Facebook page what you thought of the film. Also, keep on the look-out on my Facebook page for what upcoming films I will be checking out, as well as the Winter Fest film selections that I already picked out.

https://youtu.be/WcBKfSOKYdc