'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' review: Whitney Houston is remembered as a queer icon, dazzling and troubled

There are many Whitney Houston songs that are named after her. It was a global hit and one of her best known songs. We might think it's a pop song. This song might have meant something to a closeted young woman who felt trapped by the spotlight.

By 10 years after Houston's death, this track becomes a coming-out anthem, thanks to the collaboration between Houston's estate and the film. The song and the movie celebrate a woman who wouldn't let her voice be silenced.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody centers on Whitney Houston's queer romance. 

Credit: Sony

There was another person before Bobby Brown. She was well-known to the public as Houston's friend and assistant. The formative romance that forged Crawford and Houston's bond was revealed in But I Want to Dance with Somebody.

In 1983, a group of young women meet in New Jersey for the first time, and they meet as young girls. Whitney is held to a picture- perfect princess standard around Houston's parents because they fill her schedule with church services, family quality time, and nights performing together at clubs. She can relax, laugh, play, and dress according to her will.

In her portrayal of Houston, she captures the famous public persona, but also explores private moments, blissful and brutal. Lemmons uses Houston's recordings for the singing, but Ackie is a great lip-syncher, so you might wonder if she really is belting these tracks out. There is no mistake about the voice.

The chemistry between Ackie and Williams is so hot that their smiles reflect each other. Whether they're giggling together, rejoicing over a song on the radio, or arguing over the future of their relationship, this chemistry encourages us to root for them. We know that it's going to happen.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody glosses over the tabloid bits. 

Credit: Sony

Houston's life was often made a spectacle by gossip rags, but Lemmons' approach doesn't allow them to play their game. The full story of a larger-than-life pop idol needs to be told in two hours and 26 minutes. Lemmons takes an IYKYK approach, which means abridging the most scandalous bits.

The progression of Houston's drug addiction can be seen in the puffs here, a toot there, and a scene of her looking sad. The backlash against her was quickly depicted with a radio interview and a group of protesters. Three short scenes were used to destroy the honeymoon phase of Whitney and Robyn. Whitney's father wants the girls to be more feminine and date boys. A male artist of note is going to record a duet. It was hard to cut to Robyn crying at Whitney.

It's a hard cut that makes you laugh. The directness of Lemmons' hand makes it feel as if he's saying "You know how this goes."

Houston's relationship with Bobby Brown is not new. Their first flirtation in the movie leads to a proposal at a rapid pace. Lemmons and Ackie don't seem to be interested in inviting audiences into that troubled bond. She wants the attitude he had as a Black man in R&B to be public, where she would be hated for it. Whitney is afire with excitement over the freedom to hit back at those who treat her like defenseless prey, and it's like they're on a first date.

The couple's descent into lawsuits, domestic disputes, infidelities, and divorce is handled with a slight remoteness, but not demonizing him either. There are many scenes of screaming matches where Bobby causes Whitney to lose her mind. Lemmons recreated Houston's music video for "It's Not Right, But It's Okay" with gusto. Hit tracks are also used for emotional bridges. Even as the movie suggests he wasn't the partner she really needed, Whitney met with Bobby to unburden him of blame.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody seeks the Whitney Houston beyond the headlines. 

Credit: Sony

Some of Houston's dark moments may be past. The high standards and constraints that fenced the artist in are clear: her parents' homophobic religious views, her high-pressure persona as America's Sweetheart, and the need for her to earn, earn, earn to keep her family.

Whitney confessed to Bobby that she didn't know if she could do it anymore. It's important to be everything to everybody. He looked at her and said, "You can't stop now, right?"

We are invited to imagine what would have happened if Whitney had said this to her. Brown told US Weekly in 2016 "I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney's life, Whitney would still be alive today"

If the artist who sang the "Greatest Love of All" was invited to have her own on her own terms, this film could have been different. This goes back to the title song.

In cliched musical biopics, a singer has a big idea that inspired the song. Houston was not a writer. Her movie takes a different approach to this idea. We get to hang out with her and Clive Davis and listen to demo tapes of songs she can make her own with The Voice. Whitney stumbles to say what it means to her. For whatever reason, you just can't dance with someone.

Daddy's princess/America's Sweetheart/ Friendly Inoffensive Role Model Pop Star can't say "for whatever reason", but a stolen glance at Robyn, perched on a nearby couch, speaks the volumes. She was able to sing it. We can imagine she's singing it for the same reason, not only for Robyn, the woman she loves but can't claim, but also for the Whitney she wants to be.

Houston was brought down off the platform, pulled up from the muck of the tabloids, and welcomed into the embrace of the queer community with open arms. Houston's story ended tragically, but her movie brings us back to a triumphant moment. Lemmons wants us to remember Houston. The result is a film that's as good as Whitney Houston deserves.

I want to dance with somebody in the movie.