Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a powerful and triumphant celebration of the incomparable Whitney Houston. Directed by Kasi Lemmons, written by Academy Award® nominee Anthony McCarten (Best Adapted Screenplay, The Two Popes, 2019), produced by legendary music executive Clive Davis and starring BAFTA Award® winner Naomi Ackie, the film is a no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice. From New Jersey choir girl to one of the best-selling and most awarded recording artists of all time, audiences are taken on an inspirational, poignant—and so emotional—journey through Houston’s trailblazing life and career, with show-stopping performances and a soundtrack of the icon’s most beloved hits as you’ve never heard them before. Don’t you wanna dance?
For in-depth thoughts on Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, please see my colleague Brandon Lewis’ review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment brings Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody to Blu-Ray with a stunning 1080p video presentation. The presentation provides a lovely amount of depth on display, especially in venues and other interiors. The period production design and the fabrics of clothing provide crystal clear textural details. The image is clean with the natural color palette radiating off the screen. The film employs welcome splashes of colors within the setting and costumes which makes for a very vibrant image. The black levels remain stable with very little in the way of digital noise or crush. Flesh tones are natural with a good amount of detail present in close-ups, especially when it comes to the texture of makeup. Although a 4K UHD Blu-Ray would have really made this film come alive, this presentation is quite gorgeous.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a satisfying DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures this story beautifully. Given the subject of the film, the narrative is largely music-driven, and thankfully every tune radiates from the speakers in a wonderful, well-balanced way. The low end of the track is robust when it counts even outside of the musical moments. The environmental sounds of the world engage the surround speakers in a really pleasing way that makes the world feel three dimensional. When the characters are making their way through these scenes, there are some really nice ambient details that flesh out the setting. Dialogue always comes through clearly without being clipped by any competing sounds. This could have been a knockout Dolby Atmos track, but this presentation is no slouch when it comes to bringing Houston’s story to life.
Special Features
- Whitney’s Jukebox: An option to jump to specific songs in the film.
- Becoming Whitney: An eight-minute featurette which takes a look at this breakout role for Naomi Ackie, the qualities she brings to this role, the preparations taken to become Whitney, the phyusicality of the character, learning more about Whitney as a person, nailing the look of the icon and more.
- Moments Of An Icon: Another eight-minute look at the care taken to bring authenticity to the performances, mining the real-life history of Houston, bringing these moments to life again through careful production design and more.
- The Personal Touch: A nearly six-minute examination of the real-life collaborations with those who knew Houston the best to bring her story to the screen.
- Deleted Scenes: Six unused scenes totaling eight minutes are provided here including Whitney having a confrontation with her mother, Whitney discussing her relationship with Robyn, Bobby Brown trying to get to Whitney through her father and more.
- Previews: There are trailers provided for The Woman King, A Journal For Jordan and Where The Crawdads Sing.
Final Thoughts
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is the type of standard musical biopic which appeals to a broad audience but fails to make a lasting impact due to the actual care put into the film. The narrative that this film delivers is one that the Whitney Houston estate feels comfortable presenting to the world rather than anything that feels worthy of its complex subject. Despite the lengthy runtime, much of Houston’s life feels underexplored and lacking depth. The movie does entertain thanks to the undeniable songs that make up the DNA of the journey, along with a confident performance from Naomi Ackie, but movies such as this should strive to do more than make you reminisce on the nostalgic feelings about the artist. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray disc that sports a great A/V presentation and a few brief supplements for those who do decide to check it out. Whitney Houston will get a quick thrill from this, but returning to your favorite albums would probably be a more enriching use of your time.
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.