Set in the dazzling world of the LA music scene comes the story of Grace Davis, a superstar whose talent, and ego, have reached unbelievable heights. Maggie is Grace's overworked personal assistant who's stuck running errands, but still aspires to her childhood dream of becoming a music producer. When Grace's manager presents her with a choice that could alter the course of her career, Maggie and Grace come up with a plan that could change their lives forever.
Director: Nisha Ganatra
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kelvin
Release Date:
Rated PG-13 for some strong language, and suggestive references
Runtime: 1h 53m
Review:
The High Note is a romantic comedy that doesn’t aspire to any great heights but as a serviceable low rent version of The Devil Wears Prada it works. Nisha Ganatra delivers a glossy looking film that looks slightly like a Nancy Meyers film set in the music industry. Still, it’s decently paced with a nice sweet tone throughout even if it only brushes on bigger subjects but never engages them. Instead it’s content with the basic rom-com plot points. As is, the film works well enough to keep it entertaining mainly due to the film keeping a light easy going feel for the length of the film. Dakota Johnson is fine in the lead even though she’s about as vanilla as they come and her character is written to take advantage of her blandness. She’s never annoying or really all that interesting but she keeps the film moving. Thankfully Johnson and Kelvin Harrison Jr share some solid screen chemistry which makes their love story thread better than it should be. The film does perk up noticeably when Tracee Ellis Ross is on screen, she’s tailor suited to playing a legendary songstress and she’s got the pipes to back it up. Her character deserved more nuance and depth than the film gives her which is a shame since it would have made the whole thing more impactful. Ice Cube has a smaller supporting role and it’s good to see him play a different type of character here. The High Note isn’t a perfect film and could have used a bit of trimming here and there but still an enjoyable watch even if doesn’t bring anything new to the table.
B
