Movie Review: Pitch Perfect
Anna Kendrick (Oscar nominated for Up in the Air) leads the young cast in this college a cappala romp that is part Bridesmaids (complete with actress Rebel Wilson, who graces both, and gross-out scenes involving bodily fluids) and part Glee (but cooler). The music is great and the humor is laugh-out-loud raucous. I must disclose that I saw this movie with a friend from high school I was in show choir with, and we were both giddy because this movie was certainly our cup of tea. Perhaps all moviegoers would not feel the same, but even if the singing does not appeal, no can deny the humor.
Kendrick plays Beca, a college freshman who really wants to move to California to make her way in the music producing/DJ business — she’s quite a whiz with digital music and mixing. But since her father is a professor at the university (played by the great John Benjamin Hickey of Broadway and The Big C fame — underutilized here), she gets her tuition for free, and he has convinced her that she must try it for one year, including getting involved in some activities. Her new roommate will not be one of those activities. The Bellas are the female a capella group that are desperate for new members after ruining their reputation last school year during a completion — if they weren’t cool before, they are untouchables now. The all male group reign as the champions from last year’s championship, and it remains a bone of contention. Queen Bee Aubrey (Anna Camp) doesn’t like the look of Beca, since she’s a little edgy and alternative, but she can’t deny that they need her, and that she can sing, so Beca is in. Her efforts to shake things up (the uniforms these girls wear make them look like flight attendants from the 1960s) take awhile, but by the end of the movie, her influence has changed their game, of course.
As for the singing, the guys in the rival all male group fair better than the girls, who are all more than passable, but the guys really shine. Skylar Astin (Jesse), Ben Platt (Benji), and Adam Devine (Bumper) are all really good vocalists. Kendrick, Camp, and Brittany Snow (Chloe) have thinner voices but they work it out. An impromptu “mash up” competition outside on campus one night is a blast and the music and combinations are really clever.
Jesse is the boy next door type who is also a freshman, has an eccentric roommate (Benji), and wants to date Beca. He and Benji end up being the two that audiences might really root for. Their relationship is sweet and hilarious and likely wouldn’t happen in a real dorm situation, but it works in the movie. Benji doesn’t make the group, but he makes the best of it. Bumper is the leader of the male group, and he is full of himself and annoying, but he can really perform.
Anna Kendrick in “Pitch Perfect.” © 2012 – Universal Pictures.
The movie has some clichés — the girls’ group has the fat girl (Rebel Wilson as “Fat Amy”), the quiet but hilarious Asian (Hana Mae Lee, who steals scenes), the bigger black girl who can really sing (awesome Ester Dean), the Queen Bee and the alternative girl, but it works in this movie, because it’s all tongue in cheek and doesn’t take itself seriously. The movie is certainly following the trend of Bridesmaids with the raunch and the girls behaving outrageously, but at times, it ups the ante and surpasses that comedy, which is unexpected and welcome. Rebel Wilson is funny, which one expects from her now (which must be a hard position to be in) but Hana Mae Lee got to be more subtle without leaving less of an impact. Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins have stand out turns as commentators at the various competitions (as if it’s a football game), and are all kinds of inappropriate and un-PC. Donald Faison has a nice cameo as a member of an older a capella group who is still showing up at these events, causing quite the fight to break out.
The 1980s have a co-starring role in this movie, which is never a bad thing (music and movie references.) The movie has a comparable “John Cusack with the boom box” moment a la Say Anything, and it was just as sweet and effective, if you allow yourself to check the cynicism at the door. Director Jason Moore won a Tony award for directing the very satirical and hilarious Avenue Q, and his musical experience shows here — the staging and the songs are great. Anna Kendrick is a good actress — it’s nice to see her as a lead character, and the audience will buy her as a sulky, spunky college freshman who has some hidden talents. But it’s really the supporting cast of girls and guys who steal the show. Pitch Perfect is full of energy, laughs, good music, and talent, which fulfills a lot of expectations for a $10 ticket.
