Dakota Johnson stars as Maggie Sherwoode and Tracee Ellis Ross as Grace Davis in THE HIGH NOTE, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features
Tracee Ellis Ross shines as Grace Davis in the Focus Features comedy, The High Note. The full length film is being streamed online, on demand due to the pandemic.
It’s befitting that this celebrated actor and daughter of pop music icon Diana Ross stars in a film about a 40 something year old pop diva. Plus, the icing on the cake for those who were just waiting for her to hit a note, is that Tracee Elis Ross not only aces this role as an actor, but she sings in The High Note. I’m personally loving “Love Myself.” Any-who, her mama should be oh so proud to have her daughter following in her footsteps, even if it was just for a role in a film.
The film was shot in Los Angeles. And Ross was excited to have recorded the songs in the iconic Capitol Records studios in Hollywood, CA.
The High Note is centered on Grace Davis (Ross) and her young assistant and Maggie (Dakota Johnson), an aspiring music producer. The two arrive at very different crossroads in their careers and through comedy with a musical backdrop, they come together to pursue their dreams.
Ellis said it was love at first sight for her and The High Note. “When I first read the High Note, which was not called The High Note when I first read it, I was blown away and I knew this was a role that I wanted, for numerous reasons. The overarching theme of pursuing your dreams and not letting anyone, any naysayers, any circumstances, any time of your life prevent you from being who you are.
The fact that it was a female lead story that was about two women who were actually not against each other, I thought that was beautiful. The fact that I would get to sing…The combination of those things hit me from the beginning. And the truth is I chased and pursued this project and wanted it. So, I loved it from the first moment that I opened the script.”
Tracee Ellis Ross stars as Grace Davis in THE HIGH NOTE, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features
Ross, a seasoned actor with years of acting experience under her belt wasn’t so sure about aspects of her role as Grace. She recounts, “As Tracee, myself I love being on stage. I really like being in front of people. I love that. And you know I’ve hosted the American Music Awards live and stuff like that. I love being on stage. But when I’m hosting, I get to hide behind comedy and schtick and all those sorts of things. Grace Davis doesn’t hide behind anything. And I think she’s almost more at home on stage than she is in her own home. And so, I wanted to find that. And that took a different kind of confidence that I had to find that wasn’t easy in both of those areas. So that was really where the work came in.
I loved that this was a woman who was larger than life. That she had a heart. I love that the script didn’t paint Grace Davis this iconic sort of world-renowned superstar as some sort of caricature, that she was really a person with fears an insecurities and secrets and passions that still existed.”
Directed by Nisha Ganatra, the film also stars Ice Cube as Grace’s manager Jack, which is a perfect fit for the sometimes gritty, Straight Outta Compton actor/producer. He says about his character Jack in comparison to his real-life persona, “Naturally I’m a guy who’s a little pushy…out forward. He (Jack) thinks he’s the star in a way. He thinks no way in the world Grace Davis would be Grace Davis without him.”
Kelvin Harrison, Jr. stars as David, an up and coming talented singer, and Dakota Johnson’s character’s love interest in the film. Rounding out the cast of The High Note are June Diane Raphael, Zoe Chao, Eddie Izzard, Bill Pullma and Diplo.
Since we cannot come together and watch this on the “big screen,” at theaters, we can get our romantic comedy fix and inspiration to go for our dreams with The High Note from the comfort of our living rooms in front of the small screen, your TV. But look at it this way, you only pay one fee and you can invite the whole family or a friend to enjoy this wonderful flick for one price.
Don’t miss The High Note from Focus Features streaming in your home, on demand now.
By Lin Woods
Twitter: @linwoods
Instagram: @linwoods96
