Movie review
December 20, 2022 · 144 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
This 2022 movie tells the true story of Whitney Houston rising from a New Jersey gospel background to become one of the biggest pop stars in the world. It follows her hit songs, marriage to Bobby Brown, struggles with drugs, and close personal bond with her friend Robyn Crawford. The film shows some real-life pressures she faced around race in the music industry and her private relationships, but it centers on her talent, performances, and personal downfall more than any political message.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
Woke representation / casting
The lead and many key supporting roles use Black actors in a story about a real Black singer and her circle. This matches the historical setting and people involved exactly. The film gives screen time to her close bond with another Black woman in a way that highlights personal and intimate connection. No mismatched or quota-style casting stands out as signaling.
Woke political dialogue
A few scenes show Whitney facing and pushing back against criticism that her music and image were “not Black enough” or that she was an “Oreo.” These moments frame the comments as hurtful racism from within her community. The exchanges stay tied to her personal experience and do not turn into long modern-style lectures.
Identity-driven story themes
The narrative includes noticeable focus on racial pressures in the 1980s music business and her deep emotional and intimate relationship with Robyn Crawford, which touches on real-life sexuality rumors. These elements appear as part of her documented personal struggles alongside fame and addiction, giving them clear but not dominant weight. The queer aspect of the relationship adds noticeable emphasis.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The film shows specific homophobia and racial expectations from family, Black community voices, and the broader 1980s public that shaped her choices and image. These appear as historical challenges tied to her life story rather than broad modern attacks on Western institutions, traditional gender roles, or culture.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The movie draws from real events and accounts in Whitney Houston’s life, with involvement from her estate. It makes normal biographical dramatizations but shows no identity-driven rewrites of known facts or people.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Almost no visible public complaints accused the film of pushing woke, DEI, or identity-politics messaging. Most criticism focused on dramatic execution or depth rather than agenda. Scattered online comments exist but stay fringe and weak with no major campaigns or widespread right-leaning backlash.
Creator track record context
The writer has a clear pattern of neutral personal biopics with little activist framing. The director has built work around Black historical and cultural stories, including resistance narratives, and has spoken in favor of diverse Black representation in film. This creates a mild recurring emphasis on race and cultural experience without strong modern identity-politics or queer-activist centering.
Production
