Review: The High Note

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

PLOT: The harried personal assistant (Dakota Johnson) of a pop diva (Tracee Ellis Ross) dreams of becoming a producer, and quickly forms an alliance with a talented singer-songwriter (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) who she believes has what it takes to become a star.

REVIEW: THE HIGH NOTE, which was originally supposed to be a mainstream theatrical release via Focus Features, is one of many that have eked their way to a VOD release and having watched it for myself, it's not a bad way for a movie like this to make its bow. Despite a few good performances and an overall pleasant vibe, THE HIGH NOTE is terribly familiar, being almost a reprise of director Nisha Ganatra’s last film, the well-received LATE NIGHT. The only real difference is that it’s set in the music world as opposed to late-night TV, but otherwise, both are about struggling creative women trying to take their shot at the biz while under the wing of a grumpy, but ultimately supportive older female mentor. Well, that and the fact that THE HIGH NOTE isn’t as funny…

Here’s the problem – only half of THE HIGH NOTE is compelling, and it’s not the A-story, which is Dakota Johnson’s character fighting the odds to become a producer. The role is too thinly written. You never get the sense that she lives for music the way someone like Zoe Kravitz’s character does on the reboot of “High Fidelity.” Other than tweaking some dials in the studio, you never really see her get into the nuts and bolts of producing and the character has a big degree of entitlement lecturing someone like Tracee Ellis Ross’s ultra-successful pop diva on when to take creative risks. The same goes for her relationship with the singer played by Kelvin Harrison Jr, who seems way too passive about his role as a singer. He’s shown to be rich, but if he has all this cash and passion for the art, why does he need someone like Johnson to tell him he needs a decent mic or studio space?

Despite this, Johnson is still likable even if the role isn’t convincing, and she has good chemistry with Harrison. It’s refreshing to see him take on lighter material given his recent back-to-back roles in LUCE and WAVES, and he’s quite good as the conventional romantic lead.

The big problem though, again, is that the B-story line is far more compelling, with Tracee Ellis Ross so good as the aging pop diva that you wish the film was all about her. Possessing a voice that ought to do her mom (Diana Ross) proud, Ross has star power to burn and should have been the lead. There’s a late third act twist involving her and another character that’s intriguing and could have lent itself to a really heartfelt drama about the biz and the personal cost that goes hand-in-hand with it, but it’s quickly resolved and dismissed. Too bad, as Ross seems more than up to the task, and the soundtrack is solid enough that she comes off as a compelling pop star.

Overall, THE HIGH NOTE is decent but nowhere near as good as one feels it should have been or could have been with talents like Ross and Harrison attached (ditto Ice Cube, in a nice change-of-pace role as her manager not to mention a nice cameo by the always welcome Eddie Izzard). It’s an ok movie but frustrating. Had it been able to move past the typical rom-com cliches it could have been a lot more.

The High Note

BELOW AVERAGE

5

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