Rated
PG-13 (Sexual Material, Language and Drug References)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 52 Minutes
Cast-
Anna
Kendrick-Beca Mitchell
Brittany
Snow-Chloe
Anna
Camp-Aubrey
Rebel
Wilson-Fat Amy
Ester
Dean-Cynthia Rose
Alexis
Knapp-Stacie
Hana
Mae Lee-Lilly
Skylar
Astin-Jesse
Adam
DeVine-Bumper
Utkarsh
Ambudkar-Donald
John
Benjamin Hickey-Dr. Mitchell
John
Michael Higgins-John
Elizabeth
Banks-Gail
Christopher
Mintz-Plasse-Tommy
Directed
by Jason Moore
 |
| Anna Kendrick shows off her vocal chops in the a cappella musical, "Pitch Perfect." |
It
all began with "Glee." Since the show's premiere on FOX three years
ago in 2009, the comedy-drama/musical created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and
Ian Brennan has become (for better or for worse, depending on your point of
view) a wildly successful pop culture phenomenon. Hollywood loves to follow the
latest trends and this summer saw the release of Adam Shankman's "Rock of
Ages," based on the Broadway rock/jukebox musical of the same name.
Unfortunately, the film received mixed reviews with 41% on Rotten Tomatoes and
was a major box office bomb, grossing only $51.8 million worldwide and falling
short of its $75 million production budget. Now we have "Pitch
Perfect," a film about rival a cappella groups competing in a national championship,
inspired by Mickey Rapkin's 2008 non-fiction novel Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory. "Pitch
Perfect" may feature a formulaic and clichéd plot but this estrogen-packed
musical comedy is just too funny, too energetic, too charming, and too darn delightful
to hate.
During the national a cappella championships at New York City's
Lincoln Center, the all-girls group known as 'The Bellas' from Barden
University lose to their rivals, the all-boys 'Treblemakers' (also from the
same university), when 'Bella' member Aubrey (Anna Camp) suddenly vomits all
over the stage in the middle of her solo of Ace of Base's The Sign. A year later, Aubrey and her friend Chloe (Brittany Snow)
find themselves leading the Bellas, who are in serious need of new recruits
after most of its members graduated. Beca (Anna Kendrick) is a freshman at
Barden who wants to move to California and follow her dream of being a DJ but
her father Dr. Mitchell (John Benjamin Hickey), a professor at the university,
won't pay for her move to Los Angeles unless she completes a year of school and
makes a serious effort to join a club. While singing David Guetta's Titanium in the shower, Beca is accosted
by Chloe, who only leaves her alone on the condition that she auditions for the
Bellas. A number of students arrive the next day to audition for the various a
cappella groups but Beca, who is last, easily blows away the competition.
Aubrey and Chloe select an eclectic group of girls to join the Bellas, which
includes Beca, self-proclaimed Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), provocative Stacie (Alexis
Knapp), lesbian Cynthia Rose (Ester Dean), and quiet Lilly (Hana Mae Lee).
Together, they pledge to never sleep with a member of the Treblemakers or risk
being kicked out. Under the strict supervision of Aubrey, the Bellas begin
rigorously training for the national a cappella championships but Beca is
frustrated at the conservative song list and urges the group to try something
new. However, Aubrey is adamantly against this, leading to friction within the
Bellas. Meanwhile, Beca must fight her growing affections for Jesse (Skylar
Astin), a new member of the Treblemakers.
At first glance, "Pitch
Perfect" may look like an a cappella version of "Glee" but that
would be doing the film a great disservice, as it avoids the excessive
preaching that plagues Murphy's popular television series. Both director Jason
Moore and writer Kay Cannon (who worked on "30 Rock" and "New
Girl" as writer and producer) are making their feature film debuts here and
while Cannon's script isn't something that can be called original, it's
elevated by the snarky humor that recalls 2004's "Mean Girls" and
2010's "Easy A". Like those films, "Pitch Perfect" also
pays homage to the works of the late John Hughes, making a number of references
to 1985's "The Breakfast Club." The Bellas even sing Simple Mind's Don't You (Forget About Me) during the
national championships at the end, along with other songs. Although the film
does not offer any real surprises (its story is essentially about being
receptive to new ideas and that it's okay and even necessary to break away from
tradition), there is still a ton of laughs to be had, the energetic cast and
music performances sweeping you off your feet and leaving you singing along. A
cleverly edited montage of various students singing Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone and a hilarious
'riff-off' at an empty pool where the various a cappella groups at Barden
compete by mashing up songs in the same genre or decade are just a few of the
highlights, including Kendrick solo-rapping to Blackstreet's No Diggity. The script is full of
memorable one-liners as well, many of them delivered by Australian comedienne
Rebel Wilson, who steals every scene and almost the entire film as Fat Amy (she
calls herself this so that 'twiggy bitches' like Aubrey and Chloe don't do it
behind her back). Her rendition of Gloria Estefan's Turn the Beat Around had the audience in hysterics! There's a
running joke where Aubrey would add the syllables 'aca' of a cappella to
everything she says, e.g. when she exclaims 'aca-scuse me' when she finds her
authority being challenged by the 'alternative' Beca. It repeats throughout the
film and yet it never gets old as Amy chimes in with a humorous 'aca-awkward'
or 'aca-believe it' when you least expect it. The choreography during the music
performances is somewhat pedestrian and while Auto-Tune may rear its ugly head
at times, the sheer amount of fun you'll have manages to diminish these flaws.
Forgive me for not helping myself but "Pitch Perfect" is aca-amazing!
Ever since her Best Supporting Actress nomination for 2009's "Up in the
Air" at the 82nd Academy Awards, Anna Kendrick has been on a roll and the
only black marks on her résumé are the "Twilight" films, of which she
is thankfully now rid of. Kendrick trades in her chatterbox perkiness and dons
a rebellious smirk and black eye-liner as Goth girl Beca while showing off her
vocal chops. Yes, she can sing and
even received a Tony Award nomination when she was just twelve years old for her role as Dinah on the Broadway musical High Society, the third-youngest
performer to receive such a distinction. The romance between her and Skylar
Astin's Jesse is harmless enough, with the two generating enough chemistry that
allows us to remain invested, their characters never devolving into asinine
foolishness. The rest of the cast conform to familiar stereotypes but Cannon
gives each character enough twists to keep it fresh. Rebel Wilson is without a
doubt the highlight as she pokes fun at herself, throwing one zinger after
another and revealing a surprisingly good singing voice. Anna Camp and Brittany
Snow are appropriately uptight and perky, respectively. Ester Dean and Alexis
Knapp complement each other well, with Dean's Cynthia Rose unable to keep her hands off Knapp's Stacie, who
in turn is unable to help herself
from seductively feeling her ample bosom while dressed in skimpy clothing. Hana
Mae Lee also shines as the ultra-quiet Lilly, the camera often hilariously
cutting to an extreme close-up of her face as she mumbles some strange
non-sequitur. Adam DeVine practically makes love to the camera as preening
Treblemakers leader Bumper and finally, Elizabeth Banks and John Michael
Higgins provide some colorful commentary, saying the most outrageous things
with a straight face. Even Christopher Mintz-Plasse pops up with an amusing
cameo.
With advance screenings going on since this past summer, Universal
Pictures decided to give a limited release for "Pitch Perfect" on
September 28, 2012 before going wide a week later on October 5. Reviews have
been positive so far with 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. The screening I attended last
Wednesday didn't have a huge turnout but the audience clearly enjoyed the film,
with a number of girls sitting a few seats away from me breaking out into a
dance. That's how into it they were! Despite playing at only 335 locations,
"Pitch Perfect" managed an impressive sixth place at the weekend box
office with $5.2 million, translating to an outstanding per-theater average of
$15,522. Compare that with "Won't Back Down," which opened at eight
times as many theaters yet mustered a pitiful $2.7 million. These results
suggest a lucrative road ahead and points to the importance of word-of-mouth in
today's increasingly connected society. "Pitch Perfect" has no
business being this good with its by-the-numbers script but there's such a
snarky wit to the characters and the music performances are just so fun that
you're unable to resist its charms. This is by far one of the most pleasant
surprises of 2012 and you know what, it's aca-awesome!
Final
Rating: 4 out of 5
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