Young love has never seemed more lifeless than it does as this dreary drama lurches towards its nauseating finale
There are some comedies that seem to have been rubbed all over with an anti-funny, anti-romance Kryptonite. This is one. It’s the cinematic equivalent of elevator muzak – a festival of glam-smug with zero chemistry between any of its three leads. It’s supposedly a comedy-drama, set in the LA
music scene: Tracee Ellis Ross plays Grace Davis, a singing legend in middle age who is faced with the career death of a proposed Vegas residency, being forced on her by a cynical, money-mad manager (Ice Cube). Dakota Johnson plays her demure assistant Maggie, a music superfan and vinyl connoisseur (cue: namedropping references to Joni Mitchell) and also a wannabe producer, who tries persuading Grace to record more new songs and stay true to her creativity.