I’m a sucker for a movie that can get my toe tapping, and
Pitch Perfect definitely fits the bill.
The story is simple: Beca (the stellar Anna Kendrick), is a
moody rebel who makes her own music remixes on her Mac and dreams of working in
the music industry. But her professor
father forces her to go to college. But
they make a deal, if she joins some clubs and has the full college experience
then he will let her go to LA after only one year.
This college is lousy with a cappella groups and
happenstance lands her with the all female group, the Acca-Bellas. Since losing the national competition the
previous year, the group now must assemble a motley crew of singing misfits,
including a near mute girl, a slutty one, a control freak, etc. Circumstances find Beca joined to this group
as they sing their way through the film.
The movie is built off of template found in cheerleading
comedy from 12 years ago, Bring it On.
Except in this case, the edgy misfit who joins is the main
character. We can see this down to the
dialogue, whereas Bring it On had a cheering diction (“This isn’t a
democracy, it’s a cheer-ocracy.”) Pitch Perfect uses A cappella (“Ac-excuse
me?”)
This is a story with very few surprises. But what it lacks in originality it makes up
for in fun.
First of all, the music is great. The hook for this film is the a cappella,
where the singers have to fill out the entire arrangement only with the power
of their voices. This leads to a lot of
creative remixes and stylings that, even though we know they are meticulously
produced, feel lively and spontaneous.
The songs will get stuck in your head in a good way. Even older fare like Ace of Base’s “The Sign”
and Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone,” get some top shelf
treatment. My favorite, however, is the
reminder of the fantastic Simple Minds “Don’t You Forget About Me.” Music can be a quick shortcut to
character. It can convey emotion and
motivation more efficiently than dialogue or action alone. Pitch Perfect lets the music speak for itself
in its enjoyably smooth way.
The performances are also very good. This is not a movie that requires
soul-searing emotion. But it needs a lot
of charisma. We have to enjoy watching
the actors do what they do. Anna
Kendrick has always been stellar. She
shines in anything that she does and this part is no exception. Despite her being obviously myopic and selfish
(how can she turn down a free year of college?), we like her and want to follow
her journey.
But the other show stealer is Rebel Wilson, who plays Fat
Amy. Wilson has popped up in other
comedic movies like Bridesmaids and What to Expect When You’re
Expecting, but this movie really lets her show off her talent. She plays Amy as self-possessed and observant
while at the same time oblivious. The
best lines in the movie are Amy’s, and Wilson delivers them with an
improvisational style that makes them feel fresh. The fact that she’s “fat” Amy isn’t really an
issue. Often the “fat” character is used
for gluttonous shenanigans or is made to learn to accept her state. Here, her weight is just another aspect of
who she is, neither good nor bad, which is also in and of itself different.
The other supporting characters are successful to varying
degrees. Our heroes are likeable, but
often without depth. Beca’s love interest
(played by Skylar Astin) is fun, sometimes charming, but not very
important. The others girls in the
Bellas are also one-note, but in a funny way.
Two issues I had with the movie deal with things that were
unnecessary.
First, I hated the promiscuous sex and drinking. There was nothing overly graphic (the film is
PG-13), but it just took as a foregone conclusion that freshmen in college would
drink heavily and that a lot of the characters would belong to a hook-up
culture. Now I realize that this is
reality at a lot of universities, but it wasn’t that important to the
story. I would like to recommend this
movie to more people, but I wouldn’t have anyone under 15 watch it because of
the constant references to sex.
Second, the movie was kind of racial. I don’t mean that it was racist, but it would
bring up race in strange and pointless ways.
There were jokes pointed at Jews, whites, Asians, etc. I wasn’t really offended by anything said,
but I found it so very strange. It
reminded me of college in that when I was at college, most of my professors
were obsessed with race. Whereas for
most of us, it isn’t really that big of a deal.
I live by a Martin Luther King philosophy and think in a color blind
way. So when someone points out all of
these racial differences for no reason, I found it distracting.
But other than that, I had fun for my entire time in the
theater. If you are looking to spend a pleasant
evening with some good music and a few laughs, then Pitch Perfect is for
you.
4 out of 5 stars.
I agree with this statement "This is a story with very few surprises. But what it lacks in originality it makes up for in fun." The movie's plot is so common but it definitely will not bore viewers because of its humor.
ReplyDeleteCheck out my own version of
film review of Pitch Perfect - http://www.moviebounce.com/2013/05/film-review-pitch-perfect-2012.html
I sooo love this movie and especially the pitch perfect songs! Aca-awesome and Utkarsh s my crush! <3
ReplyDeleteI take great issue with your positive recommendation. A simple viewing of the trailer of this film reveals it to be morally offensive. Is this really a Catholic blog, or is that some kind of "spoof"?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that you read my note on the film's moral problems. I agree that it is problematic.
DeleteI noted that, yes, but I also noted the overall perspective that you have of the film, as you stated at the end: "If you are looking to spend a pleasant evening with some good music and a few laughs, then Pitch Perfect is for you." I ask: how can something be both "morally problematic" and yet also provide "a pleasant evening"?
DeleteThank you for your question. As you quoted, the pleasant experience comes from the good music and the few laughs. The quality of the music is not affected by some of the moral content. There is some humor mined from immoral behavior. But other humor is taken from simple human foibles. The laughs quoted were in reference to later, rather than the former.
DeleteAny piece of art has flaws. Pitch Perfect is no exception. Those flaws were registered and noted in my review. The reader then should make the determination if those flaws will bring closer to or further away from Beauty Itself.
Does that clarify? If not, let me know.