The High Note

"The High Note is either a light-hearted and likeable fantasy of the LA music industry, or a white-washed, clueless and resolutely tone-deaf take on the same. Over to you."

"“The High Note” begins well, ends well and even has a good middle, but there’s one extra plot turn, about 15 minutes before the finish, that’s one too many."

"It’s a predictable but entertaining set-up, buoyed by the sparkling chemistry between Johnson and Ross, and a glossy Hollywood aesthetic that vibes nicely with the film’s energetic pace and smooth soul jams."

"Thankfully, “The High Note” is full of funny, charming and diverting supporting performances, especially Ice Cube as the perpetually grumpy Jack; June Diane Raphael as Grace’s catty house manager; and Kelvin Harrison Jr., who delivers an impressive and utterly persuasive turn as a gifted singer Maggie meets in a Laurel Canyon market."

"The characters’ overall niceness makes the movie pleasant in the moment—and easy to shrug off as a fantasy."

"What director Nisha Ganatra (Late Night) mostly settles for is the softest corners of feel-good dramedy; a screwball fairy tale sung in the key of corny."

"There are lip-service feminist nods to the exclusionary nature of the music industry for women over a certain age, especially women of color, and to the boys' club that gets access to the recording studio mixing booth. But this is not a movie that goes anywhere near deep on industry politics."

"Inevitably, the tensions between Grace and Maggie will need to be resolved, but the film limps to a tied-up conclusion with all sorts of boring razzle-dazzle that only distracts from the film’s very compelling central relationship."

"Just when you’re sure this tinsel fairy tale can’t get any more glittery, there’s a last-act twist that will leave you going “No, they didn’t!” Yes, they did."

"Nisha Ganatra’s The High Note is ostensibly about the virtues of taking risks in art-making, of sacrificing the comforts of coasting on past successes for the hard-won rewards of creating something new. And yet the film itself is as formulaic as they come..."