The trailer for Kasi Lemmons’ “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” has dropped, and it’s kinda what we expected.
Sony Pictures’ Whitney Houston biopic, starring Naomi Ackie, had been test-screened in Las Vegas back in April. Ackie plays the late iconic R&B singer, whose hit song inspired the title. Here’s a reprint of the reaction I got from that Vegas screening:
“This was a standard biopic, but Naomi Ackie is amazing as Whitney. Moonlight’s Ashton Sanders was so good as Bobby Brown. Stanley Tucci as Clive Barker is also good, charming and funny, they even note Davis’ bisexuality.”
“Brown is portrayed as a little worm. They highlight that Whitney was 6 years older than him and he was trouble from the get-go. It’s all very lighthearted, until it’s not. This was penned by the same guy who wrote “Bohemian Rhapsody” but at least here he got to tell the dirty details.”
“All in all a solid 150 minute movie. Barry Ackroyd shot it. They spend a great deal showing Whitney’s lesbian relationship. Much like in ‘Bohemian’ there’s re-enactments of Whitney’s iconic musical performances and such. Those were highlights, but it’s very digitally shot, not much of an auteur movie for Kasi Lemmons, and kinda bland-looking, but I liked it.”
As mentioned, this is directed by Kasi Lemmons (“Harriet”) from a screenplay written by Anthony McCarten, the writer behind biopics such as Darkest Hour and Bohemian Rhapsody. So, don’t expect high art here. This will most definitely be conventional stuff.
“I Wanna Dance With Somebody” will be released in theaters on December 21, 2022.