The High Note (2020)

Director Nisha Ganatra (Late Night) delivers a throwback to big studio romantic comedies from twenty years ago with this frothy musical tale of Maggie (Dakota Johnson) who is the beleaguered personal assistant to legendary pop diva Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross)...yet has a good ear and aspirations of becoming a music producer.  And while trying to help produce new music for her boss, she also happens to meet a talented young vocal artist David (Kelvin Harrison Jr) whose music she also wants to produce....they strike up a romance and things just get more complicated from there.  Also co-starring Ice Cube and Bill Pullman, this delightful gem features great music though also had the misfortune of being released five years ago during the early days of COVID, so it never had a proper release.....maybe it's time to spread the word.

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

THE HIGH NOTE – 2020

Directed by Nisha Ganatra

Starring Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Ice Cub, Zoe Chao, June David Raphael, Eugene Cordero, Marc Evan Jackson, and Bill Pullman

Genre: Romantic Comedy/Musical Drama

I have no idea how the YouTube algorithm works but for some reason over the past couple of years, someone (or more likely some-THING) believed that I would enjoy this movie. 🤔 It just never failed as I would consistently see either clips, trailers, and/or musical snippets from the soundtrack fed to me....when it wasn't word salad lectures from Jordan Petersen or clips of Charlie Kirk screaming nonsensical questions at college students. 🙄 And needless to say, watching Dakota Johnson and Kelvin Harrison Jr. flirting over music seemed MUCH more pleasant than either of those guys.....

That pretty much describes this feel-good semi-musical rom-com in a nutshell too: PLEASANT. It's pleasant, sweet-natured, sexy in points, funny, touching, and loaded with good music. It feels very much like a throwback to a big studio rom-com from around twenty years ago which would have likely co-starred Jennifer Lopez, Sanaa Lathan, or Kate Hudson. In the main role of Maggie, the put-upon assistant to veteran pop diva superstar Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross), we have Dakota Johnson doing what she does best...delivering soft-spoken dialogue with equal parts warmth and bemusement. She's quite good here portraying a musical savant who has aspirations of becoming a music producer as she loves to obsessively tinker with already previously recorded pop music.....especially Grace's greatest hits. She just needs a chance....

Maggie ALSO happens to meet a handsome, talented local aspiring singer (Kelvin Harrison Jr's David) who catches her ear to the point where she starts collaborating with him as a producer....and of course as these two start to create increasingly beautiful music together, they strike up a romance. AND as she gets increasingly involved with Grace's efforts to take her career in a different direction, Maggie starts to feel increasingly stretched thin....and conflicted. :( Of course along the way, you've got the other tropey characters including the hyper-focused manager (Ice Cube) of the star who's often at odds with Maggie....and the wisecracking roommate (Zoe Chao) always on hand to provide quippy moral support....oh and is there a fun 3rd act part here for an old rom-com vet like Bill Pullman to come in, adding some warmth and wisdom?? You BET there is. ;) 

The performances all generally work - Tracie Ellis Ross is a live wire presence stealing much of the movie even if she DOES go a bit broad at points, her scenes with Johnson are undoubtedly both the funniest and the most touching. I was trying to figure out who the modern analog to her Grace Davis character is and while the obvious answer might seem to be Ross' real-life mother - Diana - I think given the time frame of her hits and the modern footprint of her character in pop culture, it MIGHT be somewhere in between Tina Turner and Marian Carey. 🤔 No matter because regardless you BUY her a modern pop diva with a the movie just would not work if you didn't....

And this is taking nothing away from Harrison's performance (on-stage and off) as he has genuinely strong chemistry himself with Dakota even though their romance DOES take a bit of a backseat towards the end. Honestly my biggest criticism of the movie would be that the overall third act and ending feels SOMEWHAT rushed - I could have probably used a couple of more scenes between certain characters to truly bring the narrative home. I can still appreciate that they kept this to under two hours and at the very least if you're not even a bit moved by the final music performance, then you MIGHT have a heart of stone. 🤫Let’s just say that it’s a very memorable collaboration between two excellent singers who have been featured throughout the film… (Audio clip) 

Best Needle-drop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

And speaking of Ms. Tracee Ellis Ross….even beyond that memorable closing number, her diegetic performances are undoubtedly among this films highlight as the actress/singer performed four original songs for this film’s soundtrack.  Mainly within the R&B/Adult Contemporary category, they’re all good listens but my personal favorite would be an uplifting ballad which we see her character Grace Davis working on throughout the film – with some additional producing help from Dakota’s Maggie – it’s the quite lovely “Love Myself.” (Audio clip) 

And believe it or not – even against those two aforementioned bangers performed by Ross – neither of them would be my top choice even though this is clearly an embarrassment of riches.  No sorry that would be New Orlean’s OWN…Kelvin Harrison Jr. whose stock has just gone up higher and higher since this movie fortunately…..in my opinion, he co-starred in the 2022 smash hit – and previous episode - Elvis where he almost stole the film from the title character no less…playing BB King.  Well for THIS soundtrack, Harrison himself also performed four songs…the most notable one is an original song we watch him work on throughout the film….also in collaboration with Maggie who produces the song…. (Audio clip) 

This song just SLAPS, genuinely catchy and he just nails it with breathy vocals….I have little doubt that this could have been a MAJOR charting hit if the film and soundtrack had proper releases back in 2020….yeah guess why didn’t?  I’ll get to that but nothing taking from a genuinely sexy song here, it’s elegantly titled, “Track 8.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Now I’m sure that for many of those who are still listening to this episode are wondering: “How have I not heard about this movie?  Was it ever in theaters?  Or was it even on cable?”  Well….it was slated to be given a wide release at least stateside by Focus Features in May of 2020…you know some low-key rom-com counter-programming for early in the summer blockbuster season.  Except of course…..COVID happened.  And unlike several bigger films slated to be released around this same time – Fast 9, Mulan, Wonder Woman 1984 – I would gather that it was never a consideration for the studio to delay the film and hold out for a theatrical release…..which is a shame because I could see this movie doing pretty well with audiences.  

Beyond that, it never received a full-blown roll-out on any major streaming service….nope what the studio decided to do was to just release it on demand at the end of May.  Which I can understand I guess….cut their losses somewhat and lord knows that several films really did clean up via on-demand during this time period.  From what I understand, the film charted ok for a few weeks on ITunes and some of the other platforms….but bottom line, this is one of several potential audience-pleasing comedies slated for release during this time which were just LOST to COVID.  Some genuinely good ones too like The Lovebirds, Palm Springs, and previous episode Happiest Season.  I could have envisioned this being a smaller but well-liked hit along the lines of The Big Sick….hell I’m sure that if Dakota Johnson had her way, she would have MUCH rather seen THIS released to theaters than Madame Webb.  Alas….we’ll never know. 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

What has to be one of THE most important scenes in any GOOD romantic comedy is the “Meet Cute.”  You know when our two romantic leads meet and hit it off under atypical circumstances…..and fortunately, The High Note features one of the best ones I have seen in recent years which I believe occurs around the 20 minute mark.  Now the set-up isn’t particularly spectacular – it’s in a grocery store where I THINK Harrison’s David is working.  And wouldn’t you know it….there’s some notable music playing overhead so he takes this opportunity to just strike up a fun conversation in the store with Maggie about it JUST as she’s picking out fruit…. (Audio clip) 

As if that wasn’t enough, he then gleefully follows her from the produce section to the frozen section to continue the conversation.  Clearly David’s got some game here, I mean there ARE worse ways to pick up a stranger… (Audio clip) 

Harrison is just fun to watch here and Dakota’s bemused yet intrigued reaction makes it all the better – just a really fun sequence and it even caps off as David rushes outside for some strange reason….hmmm…..and as Maggie’s walking out, she makes a musical discovery about him, she’s CLEARLY smitten. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

Undoubtedly there are definitely shades here of The Devil Wears Prada, Working Girl, My Favorite Year, the underrated Morning Glory....and who's complaining when those are all good movies? Not the director nor her writer Flora Greeson - they know at least to borrow from the best and give it all a bit of a (pre-COVID) modern sunny Los Angeles spin. With that, we get all of the requisite Hollywood hills vistas and endless shots of the Capitol Records building - it certainly helps that this all looks bright and inviting thanks to DP Jason McCormick. (He shot Booksmart the year before and that's ALL you need to know)

Overall, this is just a handsome production, well-paced, and another notch in the belt of a pretty promising career so far – since ’99, she has directed a ton of top-flight TV/streaming including episodes of Girls, Mr. Robot, Fresh Off the Boat, and Brooklyn 99 PLUS three feature films, most notably the acclaimed minor hit from a few years ago, Late Night co-starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling.   She’s CERTAINLY on the upswing as checking her IMDB, imagine my delight to find out that she’s directing the highly anticipated Freakier Friday, coming out this summer.  Now did we NEED a sequel to that beloved 2003 hit starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan?  Likely not and let’s not forget that the previous film was itself a remake…..but I really liked it and now hearing that SHE’S directing a bigger film with a proper theatrical release no less, FINALLY….consider me that much more intrigued.  For helming one of the more underrated rom-com’s of recent years, Nisha Ganatra is the MVP.  

Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Overall just a delightful and affecting throwback which is undoubtedly worth catching online. Guess I’m just a sucker for these types of semi-musical rom-coms when they’re done right….this belongs RIGHT in that subgenre alongside previous episodes Music & Lyrics AND Brown Sugar.  Check it out....and just try getting the absurdly catchy "Track 8" out of your head afterwards!  

Streaming on freevee

And that ends another review!