Not only does it ruin countless songs from popular culture by having 30-somethings sing them acting as teenagers and then having their voices auto-tuned to death but it has also restored the faith that tired high-school clichés and characters are back in.
Fortunately, Pitch Perfect shares very little with Glee, despite the obvious connection that they are both about singing groups.
Pitch Perfect follows Beca (Anna Kendrick) who is starting at Barden University, but doesn't really want to be there because she is being forced into a College education by her Father, Dr. Mitchell (John Benjamin Hickley). She starts working at the College radio station with Jesse (Skylar Astin), but her Father still doesn't approve because he wants her to join a proper College group so she can really feel what College is all about and make new friends. So, she joins the Barden Bellas, led by Aubrey (Anna Camp) and her right-hand woman, Chloe (Brittani Snow), who are trying to get the Bellas back to their former glory after a disastrous attempt at the a cappella finals last year. Unfortunately for them, they end up having to recruit a bunch of misfits in the form of Beca, slutty Stacie (Alexis Knapp), urban Cynthia Rose (Ester Dean), deathly quiet Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) and the fat Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson). Beca soon spots their shortfalls - they keep performing the same old tired routine - but Aubrey is so power hungry that she doesn't want to listen to anyone else's input. It's a case of falling out and making up again as the Barden Bellas make their way to the a cappella finals and try to win the 1st place title again. Will they make it? Who knows... well, that would be a lie.
The film itself feels like it's been dragged kicking and screaming out of the 1990s from films like Bring It On, The Waterboy and any other sports team/College group who are seen as underdogs and work their way to victory. In fact, in Pitch Perfect's defence, it never strays away from the tight cliché story that it follows and uses it to it's advantage most of the time in the sense that we know where the story is going, so we re here for the comedy and to laugh.
However, I have to get this out the way from the beginning; Pitch Perfect would be a very mediocre film at best and probably quite tame if it wasn't for Rebel Wilson and her character of Fat Amy. She literally steals every single scene that she is in and provides 90% of the laughs and punchlines in the film. The fact that the film has to rely on a character so much would be a little bit tiresome, but I personally find Rebel Wilson hilarious, so I didn't mind so much. But a word of warning, if you didn't like her style of comedy in Bridesmaids or What To Expect When You're Expecting (the little roles that she did have in them), then Pitch Perfect is like an extended version of those roles that she's already played - a socially awkward fat girl who says exactly what she is thinking.
But Pitch Perfect isn't all about Fat Amy, it's actually about Beca and her budding relationship with Jesse who has joined the rival all-male a cappella group, The Treblemakers lead by the 'douchebag' Bumper (Adam DeVine). However, because inter-a cappella group relations are not allowed and the fact that Beca is a moody little teenage girl full of angst, it doesn't make Jesse's advances to her very easy. Having said all that, despite the tension that is built that blocks their budding relationship, it's hardly Romeo and Juliet. I didn't really feel like I wanted them to get together and the kiss at the end felt a little bit forced. I guess I just wanted the scriptwriter, Kay Cannon to do something a bit more that would have really thrown their budding relationship into jeopardy. For example, the radio DJ shows some initial interest in Beca when he starts playing her mash-up remixes on the radio station, but that goes no where. Beca is explicitly told by Aubrey that relationships are not allowed in-between a cappella groups (and Beca needs to make The Barden Bellas work, because her Father has promised her funding to move to New York to become a Radio DJ if she does well at College) but Beca just invites Jesse around to her dorm room with no problems. It just felt a little bit... tame.
Secondly, the road to the finals seems a little bit easy for The Barden Bellas. I know the plot of this film was never going to be the reason to see it and that it's all down to the singing/comedy (depending on your preference), but there was prime opportunity to add more into it. Like when the Bellas' coach breaks down (due to Fat Amy not actually putting any petrol in it) there could have been a comedic struggle for them to actually get to finals. Instead, what do we get? A quick phone call to The Treblemakers and boom... they are back on the road again. The theatrical trailer also hinted at a bikini car wash to raise money, but it was mysteriously absent from the film. Who wouldn't have wanted to see Fat Amy in a bikini...? OK then.
And for those of you who have came for the singing? Well, for a film that runs on for about two hours, there really didn't feel like there was that much "organised nerd singing" and when it is there, it's auto-tund to hell and back (like on Glee). It's alright for people who aren't really into Glee or that type of singing - put it this way, characters suddenly don't burst into song when they are in trouble/annoyed/happy. The only singing comes when they are in their practice room or performing for the regionals. But the whole film is pitched as an a cappella singing comedy film, so the lack of singing in the two hour running time felt odd.
So, while Pitch Perfect isn't perfect, it certainly packs a few punches, courtesy of Fat Amy aka. Rebel Wilson. For those of you who were expecting a Glee film with different characters, it's almost there, but not quite - thank goodness! For those of you who aren't really into your singing teenage dramas, Pitch Perfect does feel a it cheesy in parts, but luckily there's not too much singing to turn you off.
*** / *****
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