{"id":1785798,"date":"2022-12-24T06:30:29","date_gmt":"2022-12-24T11:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1785798"},"modified":"2022-12-24T09:34:27","modified_gmt":"2022-12-24T14:34:27","slug":"i-wanna-dance-with-somebody-checks-all-the-biopic-boxes-yawn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/i-wanna-dance-with-somebody-checks-all-the-biopic-boxes-yawn\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI Wanna Dance With Somebody\u201d Checks All the Biopic Boxes (Yawn)"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fi-wanna-dance-with-somebody-checks-all-the-biopic-boxes-yawn%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1785798&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/I-wanna-dance-with-somebody-review-super-bowl-2.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\"   style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>\u201cI Wanna Dance with Somebody\u201d feels like a CliffsNotes version of Whitney Houston\u2019s life story.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The film hits all the obligatory notes, from Houston\u2019s triumphant Super Bowl performance to her combustible private life, without digging beneath the surface.<\/p>\n<p>Who was Whitney Houston, music superstar? How did she channel that incredible voice to bounce The Beatles from the record books? What made her ripe for such a tragic, yet predictable, downfall?<\/p>\n<p>Rush, rush rush. So\u00a0why does the biopic clock in at nearly two and a half hours long?<\/p>\n<p>Naomi Ackie stars as Whitney, a soul singer nudged toward greatness by her singing ma Cissy Houston (Tamara Tunie). That training lasts all of one scene (we\u2019re not even given a \u201cRocky\u201d-like montage!).<\/p>\n<p>Suddenly Whitney is so polished she knocks the socks off of veteran music producer Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci in full avuncular mode).\u00a0Fame comes swiftly for the young woman, forcing her to nix her lesbian partner\u00a0Robyn (Nafessa Williams) to appeal to middle America.<\/p>\n<p>The nuances of that sacrifice, like every other aspect of the singer\u2019s life, get little scrutiny.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Now, backed by Davis and with her domineering Dad (Clarke Peters) pulling the strings, Whitney becomes a star.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s where the picture perfect casting comes in.<\/p>\n<p>Ackie doesn\u2019t resemble Whitney Houston as much as we\u2019d like, but she nails the singer\u2019s presence, charisma and glamour. It\u2019s as good as Austin Butler\u2019s \u201cElvis\u201d impersonation from early this year, the highest possible praise.<\/p>\n<p>You can\u2019t imagine another performer better suited to bring Whitney back to life.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CmRs2whpyX0\/?utm_source=ig_embed&#038;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Ackie can\u2019t do much about the film\u2019s nagging flaws, from a comical reliance on Biopic 101 moments (yes, the film shows Whitney hearing herself on the radio for the first time) to the film\u2019s overt villain.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s her Daddy, who sees his daughter as a walking, talking ATM.<\/p>\n<p>The film\u2019s producers partially explain why so many punches got pulled. Davis\u2019 name is attached, and while he may have been as fatherly to Whitney as seen here, his perfection comes off as phony.<\/p>\n<p>And when Davis implores Whitney to go to rehab it comes as a shock. The film doesn\u2019t show a drugged-out Houston at anything close to her worst. Instead, limp news snippets share how she no longer hits all those glorious notes on tour.<\/p>\n<p>Any guess as to why?\u00a0And, later, she appears tired and sans makeup. That\u2019s hardly rock bottom.<\/p>\n<p>Even the notion that Whitney sang for \u201cWhite America\u201d and ignored her race, comes off as a talking point not worth the screen time.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">With \u201cI Wanna Dance With Somebody\u201d arriving soon, here\u2019s your reminder that\u2019s director Kasi Lemmons as Ardelia Mapp running to Clarice in an iconic sequence in \u201cThe Silence of the Lambs.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6IRPVQNblr\">pic.twitter.com\/6IRPVQNblr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Richard Roeper (@RichardERoeper) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RichardERoeper\/status\/1605412596164829185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 21, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Director Kasi Lemmons (\u201cHarriet\u201d) recreates many of the singer\u2019s iconic moments, with only a few unnecessary flourishes. Including jets screaming overhead as Houston belts out \u201cThe Star Spangled Banner\u201d at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/29846571\/the-story-whitney-houston-epic-national-anthem-performance-1991-super-bowl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1991 Super Bowl.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The rest is up to Ackie, and every time the film falls into a predictable rut, which is often, it\u2019s saved by the actress bringing another Whitney classic to the fore.<\/p>\n<p>The film\u2019s finale strikes a triumphant chord, as opposed to the star\u2019s final, tragic moments. It\u2019s both wise and wonderful, a better way to reflect on the joy she gave to millions over her short life.<\/p>\n<p>Airbrushing away Whitney\u2019s flaws, especially her drug dependency, still feels like a cheat. It\u2019s part of the New Hollywood Normal, where the stars (or friends and family) weigh heavily into the creative choices of music biopics and documentaries.<\/p>\n<p>Consider\u00a0\u201cI Wanna Dance with Somebody\u201d a spiritual cousin to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/miss-americana-critics-taylor-swift\/\">Miss Americana<\/a>\u201d (Taylor Swift), \u201cPink: All I Know So Far\u201d and \u201cHomecoming\u201d (Beyonce).<\/p>\n<p><strong>HiT or Miss<\/strong>: \u201cI Wanna Dance with Somebody\u201d boasts a career-making turn from Naomi Ackie, but the film never explores the nuances of Whitney Houston\u2019s life and times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI Wanna Dance with Somebody\u201d feels like a CliffsNotes version of Whitney Houston\u2019s life story. The film hits all the obligatory notes, from Houston\u2019s triumphant Super Bowl performance to her combustible private life, without digging beneath the surface. Who was Whitney Houston, music superstar? How did she channel that incredible voice to bounce The Beatles &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1785801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[7156,6962,11612,7589,11611,5458,11613,4374,11610,3819,6373,11614,3635],"class_list":["post-1785798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-i","tag-the","tag-yawn","tag-all","tag-biopic","tag-bongino","tag-boxes","tag-checks","tag-dance","tag-report","tag-somebody","tag-wanna","tag-with"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1785798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1785798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1785798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1785801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1785798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1785798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1785798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}