Movie Review

Female-centric The High Note can't find the right tune

The list of professions that women usually play in films is depressingly small, so it’s notable when a movie goes beyond the stereotypical roles. The High Note gives its two female leads plenty of agency in their careers, but somehow still keeps them down in their personal lives.

Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross) is a world-famous singer trying to keep her career current after a heyday in the 1990s and 2000s. Maggie (Dakota Johnson) serves as her personal assistant, but aspires to become a music producer. Maggie works on her passion surreptitiously, even going so far as remixing one of Grace’s songs in hopes that she will include it on her next album.

Grace believes that she still has what it takes to be a major player in the music industry, but her manager Jack (Ice Cube) thinks she should rest on the laurels of her earlier success and transition to something like a residency in Las Vegas. The push and pull of both women’s professional desires drives the narrative, with their personal relationship and other non-work parts coloring it in.

Directed by Nisha Ganatra and written by first-time screenwriter Flora Greeson, the film seems to have all the right pieces but not a great idea of how to put them together. It starts with a quick montage at the beginning meant to show how popular Grace is, but which only serves to confuse things by intimating that her best days are happening currently, not years in the past. The lack of clarity on the state of her career continues for much of the film, muddying various plot points.

Maggie, though, is the main character of the film, as it’s her ambitions and desires that are given the most focus. Whether it’s her trying to horn in on Grace’s music, discovering the undiscovered talent of David Cliff (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), or showing her being Grace’s put-upon assistant, the film is much more interested in her state of mind than Grace’s.

In this way, it’s almost a carbon copy of Ganatra’s previous film, Late Night, in which Mindy Kaling played an up-and-coming writer for Emma Thompson’s late night host. In both cases, though, Ganatra couldn’t find an effective way to showcase her leading women. For every bit of forward momentum this film has, it’s undercut by silly and unnecessary aspects.

The film is a mix of drama and comedy, but Ganatra and Greeson go too far sometimes. They include weird comic interludes that don’t mesh, as well as a comic relief character played by June Diane Raphael who is wholly out of place with everyone else in the film. They also never land on what kind of person is Grace supposed to be. Is she an out-of-touch diva? Is she a slightly alcoholic ditz? Ross plays her many different ways, and the conflicting traits make the character unknowable.

But the oddest thing about the film is its music and place in music history. There are multiple lines schooling the audience on the importance of certain real-world singers, but the film doesn’t do a great job in establishing the bona fides of Grace’s music. The few original songs shown are okay, but do nothing to support her supposed superstar status.

Johnson is working hard to become a movie star like her parents, and while she’s perfectly enjoyable in this role, she has yet to show the ability to carry a film. Ross has been great on ABC’s Black-ish, but doesn’t display the full chops to inhabit a character like Grace Davis. Ice Cube is similarly stunted in his role, but Harrison (who was heartbreaking in 2019’s Waves) shows oodles of charisma.

The High Note deserves plaudits for telling a female-centric story with women who do more than just pine after men. But it never seems to know exactly what to do with its characters, and winds up spinning its wheels for most of its running time.

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The High Note is available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Xfinity, Vudu, GooglePlay, and FandangoNow.

Dakota Johnson and Tracee Ellis Ross in The High Note.

Dakota Johnson and Tracee Ellis Ross in The High Note

Photo by Glen Wilson / Focus Features

Dakota Johnson and Tracee Ellis Ross in The High Note.

News You Can Eat

Dallas restaurants have summer on the brain, plus more dining news

Mendocino Farms

Courtesy photo

Summer lineup from Mendocino Farms.

This roundup of Dallas dining news has an unprecedented number of restaurants offering special seasonal menus for summer, most starting on June 1. We're so seasonal right now.

Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:

Saaya Lounge, a Mediterranean oasis at 2511 Swiss Ave. from Milkshake Concepts (Vidorra, The Finch, Harper’s) will open on Friday, June 2. The menu will be in mezze form - small Mediterranean-style shared plates – such as Spicy Feta Dip, marinated Shawarma and Kebabs, and Lebanese-style pizzas, also known as Manakeesh. Plus Greek and Lebanese Caesar. Cocktails include the Ombra of Anubis with Sombra Mezcal, Ancho Reyes, and Ramazatti; and Not Your Habibi, with Ketel One vodka, St. Germain, and Dill Yogurt.

Leela's Pizza & Wine has introduced weekend brunch at its new Uptown location at McKinney & Olive, Saturday-Sunday from 11 am-3 pm. The menu features frittatas, breakfast pizzas, $2 mimosas, and cold pressed juices. Entrees include bacon & cheddar frittata with egg, bacon, white cheddar, tomato, arugula, & avocado crema; vegetable frittata with egg whites, manchego, spinach, red pepper, mushrooms, romesco; bacon & sausage breakfast pizza with an over easy egg; vegetable breakfast pizza with spinach, mushrooms, red onions, tomato, over easy egg; and an acai smoothie bowl with acai, strawberry, banana, blackberry, oats, and honey. Drinks include $2 mimosas and $5 cold-pressed juice mimosa.

Sister on Greenville Avenue has an unusual new item: Called the One Night Stand, it features a bottle of prosecco and a room key to one of the three boutique apartments above its sibling Cafe Duro next door. Guests have special access to the neighboring Duro concepts including private dining experiences and priority access to reservations at Sister and their other sibling, The Charles. The sparkling and overnight stay are $299.

Chef's Palette, the restaurant at the Canvas Hotel, has a summer new menu from Executive Chef Emerio Viramontes, featuring pepita-crusted salmon on poblano cream rice with a green bean and pepper medley and blood orange-mezcal glaze; NY strip with goat cheese polenta, broccolini, and blackberry demi; red snapper with black rice and charred baby bok choy; and pork chop with roasted parsnips, carrots, and whipped potatoes. Viramontes is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Austin who joined the Canvas last year. The new menu debuts on June 1.

Mendocino Farms has a new summer menu featuring: Strawberry Fields Salad with chicken, strawberries, watermelon radish, fennel, mint, red onions, goat gouda, and pistachios; Hot Honey Peach & Prosciutto Sandwich with mozzarella, honey-roasted almonds, Calabrian chili aioli, hot peach honey, and arugula on a toasted sesame roll; Turkey Avo Salsa Verde Sandwich; Italian Roast Beef Sandwich; and new sides: Watermelon Street Cart Salad, Southern Macaroni Salad, and Oaxacan Potato Salad.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria has a new Summer Selections menu with Smoked Brisket Pizza and Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce; Spinach Salad with feta cheese, red onion, almonds, and strawberries; Cheesecake topped with blueberries or strawberries; a charcuterie board with prosciutto, salami, mozzarella, Spanish olives, and antipasto peppers; and the Bourbon & Blues cocktail with Tincup American whiskey, lemon juice, muddled blueberries, and thyme. It runs June 6 through September 11.

Salad and Go has a new summer menu with four new dishes: Antipasto Salad with romaine, salami, feta cheese, cucumbers, banana peppers, kalamata olives, red onions, and croutons in red wine vinaigrette (can also be ordered as a wrap); Mediterranean breakfast burrito with spinach, eggs, feta cheese, and avocado with green tomatillo salsa (can also be ordered as a bowl); Minestrone Soup, a vegetarian soup with kale, cannellini beans, and pasta in a tomato-based broth, which will become a permanent menu item; and the return of Blueberry Basil Lemonade. The dishes will debut on June 1.

Modern Market has brought back its cult classic Street Corn Pizza, with corn, jalapeño, chile powder, cilantro, lime, smoked crema, cotija, mozzarella, and cheddar cream sauce. Their pizzas are really a deal. A whole Street Corn Pizza is $12.45, but they also thoughtfully offer their pizzas in a half-size for $7.45. They have locations at Preston Hollow/Dallas, Plano, Southlake, Las Colinas, and Richardson, and their website is one of the easiest and most sophisticated in the restaurant industry.

Smoothie King smoothie chain has brought back its X-Treme Watermelon smoothie and a new Watermelon Lemonade smoothie for the summer.

Chili’s has new Chicken Crisper Combos with Cheddar Mac & Cheese, Fries, and two dipping sauces: new Buffalo Ranch and Sweet Chili Zing. Their OldTimer burger can now be ordered with double patties because more meat is appealing to some people? New premium margaritas feature high-end tequila like Casamigos and Teremana Tequila.

Yardbird, the Miami Beach concept with locations in Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Singapore, Chicago, and Denver (opening summer 2023), is doing two pride items during June: Key Lime Pie with toasted meringue, raspberry sauce, and fruit and a Berry Prideful cocktail with Silver Tequila, Cointreau, Lime, Strawberry, and Agave.

Naturli’ is a Danish brand launching its award-winning plant based butters in the U.S. The products will initially launch in H-E-B stores across Texas. Naturli’s vegan butters are among the best on the European market thanks to their exceptional taste and healthy ingredients. Made with cocoa butter, almond butter, coconut oil and canola oil, they are dairy-free and palm-oil free. The Butter Spread is for spreading on bread; Plant Butter Block is for baking. Both are made to taste and perform like traditional butter; Plant Butter Block is approved by professional bakers.

Orange Leaf, the Dallas-based self-serve, choose-your-own-toppings frozen yogurt chain with a location at 6076 Azle Ave. in Lake Worth, has brought back fan-favorite froyo flavor Watermelon.

Gong Cha the drink chain with 7 stores in the Greater Dallas area has a special Pride drink running June 1-30. It's a sweet and tart Lemon Ai Love Yu bubble tea with white pearls and edible glitter.

H-E-B is opening a new eCommerce Fulfillment Center in Plano later this summer to service its new stores in North Texas.

Texas Dairy Queen Operators’ Council is launching a contest to find The Biggest Fan in Texas. You have to write an essay, plus tell what your favorite DQ item is, your favorite location, and a photo with a DQ memory. The winner gets free Treats & Eats for a year, plus swag from Josh Abbott Band, DQ, and Dr Pepper. The contest is open only to legal residents of Texas, 13 or older. Entries must be received by August 6 at 8 am. The rules can be found on the dqtexas.com/biggestdqfan website. The winner will be announced on August 14.

José Andrés Group has partnered with Loliware, the world’s first seaweed-resin company, to launch Loliware straws at all restaurants. Loliware’s innovative seaweed-resin straws and utensils look and act like plastic but can compost completely within 50 days. They've already debuted at Chicago restaraunts Bar Mar, Bazaar Meat by José Andrés, and Jaleo, and will expand to José Andrés Group restaurants across the country.

Nueva Pescanova, a Spanish seafood company, is trying to open an industrial-scale octopus farm, and scientists and activists are calling for it to be quashed. Octopuses are intelligent and curious sentient beings, able to solve complex puzzles. They're also territorial and solitary animals who may resort to cannibalism if kept in tanks together, as Nueva Pescanova intends. The company also plans to subject breeding females to 24-hour periods of light, which would cause extreme discomfort, and their proposed method of slaughter — death by ice slurry —causes significant pain as animals can take hours to die. If you don't care about the cruelty aspect, consider the health threat: Octopuses are known to carry over 20 different pathologies, including vibrio cholerae which causes cholera in humans; octopus farming would increase the risk of spreading more zoonotic diseases like COVID among humans. IDA USA has a form you can fill out to log your protest.

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