Gayle On Film: 'The High Note' 2:37
The High Note
First, it's fairly easy to say that "The High Note" hit a high note casting Dakota Johnson and Tracee Ellis Ross (daughter of uber legend Diana Ross) as a personal assistant/wannabe music producer and an over 40 diva who's not quite ready to call it quits on her career. Johnson is Maggie Sherwood — superfan and super-faithful assistant to Grace Davis (Ross). Maggie performs the most menial tasks due to her admiration for Davis. So sincere is that admiration that she's lasted on the job (largely thankless) for several years (that's a long time in personal assistant years in Hollywood).
But Grace is doing the same show, the same act when she's touring. Simply put, she's stalled. Record company execs want her to do that same act in a Las Vegas residency. Maggie believes Grace is not past her prime and should expect more for herself, and so she attempts to push Grace with her own musical ideas. What you get is a female-affirming, pleasant film. There is no backstabbing. (No, that's not a spoiler). While there are funny moments and some solid female-to-female dialogue, the conflict was predictable. Even so, the film is a nice way to spend some girl time co-watching via a Zoom meeting. "The High Note" premieres On Demand.