The personal assistant (Dakota Johnson, relaxed and confident) to a megastar headliner (Tracee Ellis Ross, peerless-ish) at the crossroads of Vegas residency and cutting a live greatest hits album tries branching out by guiding the career of a promising singer (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Considering the error margin potential inherent in the material, it’s surprising how freshly the situations unfold. Even the inevitable romance turns up structurally on time and unscathed. And allow me a moment to praise Ice Cube. From punching the “Yuh” in “Hawaii-yuh” to (for once) being on the giving end of a backstage dressing down that he could probably have ad-libbed based on past experience, the actor is at his comic best. Like a pair of expert skiers, writer Flora Greeson and director Nisha Ganatra slalom around the stereotypes, but rather than end the film pursuant to its title, the filmmakers close in a manner befitting the climactic reveal in a cheesy twist-ending thriller. Fun while it lasts, anyway. (2020) — Scott Marks
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