Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 5, 2024

The musical biopic feels almost as prevalent a stalwart in today's multiplexes as do the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Turn around, it seems, and find yet another film about a Pop icon adoring the big screen. Popular culture phenoms like Elton John, James Brown, Elvis, Freddie Mercury, and Aretha Franklin have recently graced the screen, and to some critical and commercial success at that. This isn't really a new thing, though. Movies about the likes of Jim Morrison, Eminem, Loretta Lynn, Selena Quintanilla, and Ritchie Valens show the genre's history and excellence in decades past. But in this era of super-saturation, they're coming in hot and heavy and vying for the attention of audiences of millions who have loved the music and, now, might wish to see the film. One of the latest in this increasingly lengthy string is Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, a linear Biopic about the title character whose rise to stardom was only matched by her personal struggles and premature death.

The film follows Whitney Houston's (Naomi Ackie) rise to stardom and subsequent fall into premature death. When music mogul Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci) discovers Houston and gives her a one-of-a-kind record deal with Arista, she quickly rises the ranks as one of the foremost musical stars of her day. Hers is a once-in-a-generation voice, and along with a bit of a makeover she quickly becomes "America's Sweetheart." The film follows her journey towards her biggest hits and moments that take her from South Africa to the Super Bowl and her marriage to singer Bobby Brown (Ashton Sanders), but addiction and dysfunction begin to take a toll on a storybook life.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody obviously, and rightly, aspired to genre greatness, and by every account it should achieve that greatness: its focus is on a singularly gifted talent, played by a terrific up-and-coming actress. The story is classically shaped in a very traditional, yet authentic, rise-climax-fall structure. It's got plenty of other good talent on both sides of the camera, including the venerable Stanley Tucci in a terrific supporting role. Yet the film, for all it has going for it, feels rather pedestrian. It's good, but it never rises above the rest when it should. Why? It's difficult to pinpoint. Maybe it's just that aforementioned market saturation: too many movies that might look different on the surface but ultimately tell more or less the same story begins to grow wearisome, and that's quite possibly the fate that befalls the film here. It's very efficient, well done, highly capable, yet it just feels like every other movie of its kind, replacing names and faces and songs, yet still set along the same basic arc that defines pretty much all of these other likeminded pictures.

One of the major draws for the film is young Naomi Ackie in a breakout performance as the title pop legend. She's so good that it's difficult not to see Whitney Houston on the screen. She's so smooth in her movements, her cadence, her ability to absolutely capture the legendary performer that the film would not work anywhere near as well as it does without her. And it's not just skin deep. While she has certainly taken to the coaching for her look, mannerisms, and the like, it's her ability to find the character's soul that makes the movie work. The outside stuff supports, but it's in her grasp of Whitney Houston's very essence that sees the movie work. She's surrounded by some incredible talent doing incredible things, but she clearly rises above to steal the show and, really, steal hearts as Whitney Houston did throughout her illustrious career.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sony releases Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody to Blu-ray with a high quality 1080p transfer. The image was digitally sourced and transitions well to Blu-ray, delivering good, clean imagery and stout detailing throughout the film. The picture is capable of presenting facial characteristics, hair, and of course the many costumes seen throughout the film very impressive clarity and precision. Viewers will never be left wanting more substantial clarity and detail on anything the film has to offer. Color accuracy is also impressive, with a wide range of bright colors appearing throughout the film, including, again, on clothing (the white track suit Whitney wears to the Super Bowl looks particularly amazing) and various supports throughout the picture. Black levels are wonderfully deep with no obvious push to either crush or unnatural lightness. Skin tones look healthy and delightful. There is some source noise at work in lower light shots, but it is never a distraction. The image reveals no other source or encode issues.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As a movie centered on music, it is vital that the soundtrack hit, and hit it does. Sony's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless presentation of Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody lives up to expectations. Vocals are rich and lifelike, the music is smooth and engaging, and the stage is nicely filled throughout. The track offers wonderful elements beyond that. Probably the most impressive element, outside of music, comes at the Super Bowl when fighter jets scream through the stage, accompanied by a hearty low-end response. Here and at various concert venues, crowd immersion and din is first-rate for surround use and dropping the listener into the locations. Dialogue is clear, centered, and well prioritized for the duration.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody contains a handful of extras. No DVD copy is included, but a digital copy voucher is. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Whitney's Jukebox (1080p, 33:10): Clips from the film (including some interludes) featuring the following songs: Greatest Love of All, Home, How Will I Know, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, The Star Spangled Banner, I Will Always Love You, It's Not Right but It's OK, I'm Every Woman/I'm Your Baby Tonight, One Moment in Time, I Didn't Know My Own Strength, and Medley: "I Loves You, Porgy/And I am Telling You I'm Not Going/I Have Nothing. Songs can be played individually, the whole lot can be played, or the songs can be shuffled.
• Becoming Whitney (1080p, 7:37): Naomi Ackie's performance is analyzed: breakout performance, vocal and physical preps, inhabiting Whitney, and more.
• Moments of an Icon (1080p, 8:02): Making the three-song medley, the South African concert, and the Super Bowl.
• The Personal Touch (1080p, 5:30): Looking at the involvement in this film of the real-life individuals who were alongside Whitney in her career.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 7:44 total runtime): Included are Cheating, Cool & Smart, The nerve, Press the Record, Resignation, and Wish You Were Here.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a serviceable, by-the-book, A-to-Z look at the star's early life, rise to stardom, the impact of success on her life, personal demise, and tragic death. It's well done even if it is, technically, not anything new within the genre. Fans will flock to it, and rightly so, and it's good enough to entice newcomers, even if the story winds up being more paint-by-numbers than truly gripping. Sony's Blu-ray is rock-solid, delivering high end video and audio and a nice mix of supplements. Recommended.