Biopics of music stars are very successful in the cinema. In 2022, “Elvis” was one of the big releases, along with “Rocketman” (2019), which retells the story of Elton John, and “Bohemian Rapsody” (2018), about Freddie Mercury, the leader of Queen.
Despite all the success and accolades the latter has garnered, the feature only has a 60% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes an online review aggregator. In addition to being involved in controversies during its production, such as director Bryan Singer being fired during filming following allegations of harassment, the film has been accused of being a “white dish” and due to the active involvement of members of Queen, “clean the bar” of Freddie Mercury.
“I Wanna Dance With Somebody The Story of Whitney Houston,” a biopic that opens in Brazilian cinemas today, caused quite a stir in the singer’s family. Not that the film is offensive or disrespectful to Whitney. On the contrary, the film shows that before she became an artist, she was human.
Unlike screenwriter Anthony McCarten’s sanitized portrayal of Freddie Mercury, also from I Wanna Dance With Somebody The Whitney Houston Story, Whitney Houston has flaws, strengths, desires and concerns. The film isn’t shy about showing that the drug and alcohol abuse during the fame period is legitimate and not to blame on the singer’s thenhusband Bobby Brown. He was a kind of catalyst, but he wasn’t the source.
Another success of the film is telling the love story of Whitney and Robyn Crawford. Denied until the end by the singer, the two lived a relationship. In the production he is portrayed lightly, giving the impression that the love between them did not end, but only changed its form and turned into a friendship.
Protagonist Naomi Ackie shows versatility as she lives Whitney at different moments in her life. The only moments we’re reminded that this isn’t actually a recording of the singer is in the musical sequences, as the dubbing is fake by Ackie.
“I Wanna Dance With Somebody The Story of Whitney Houston” may not have the same success as “Bohemian Rapsody” for reasons of band and public appeal, but in terms of depicting the life and challenges of the artists, the singer is more successful.