Collegiate competition teams are weird. I don’t mean weird in the sense that I don’t understand them, but weird in the sense that I have belonged to one and the kind of stuff that you experience together is just out of this world at times. I think that’s why the original Pitch Perfect film is pretty special to me because it reminds me so much of the camaraderie, rivalry, and sheer absurdities you will undoubtedly experience as part of a college or university competition team.
Becca (Anna Kendrick) is a freshman at Barden University. She has dreams of being a professional DJ and music producer, and has absolutely no business being at Barden, but she attends so she can “pay her dues” to her father who is a professor at the institution.
A natural recluse, Becca avoids everyone and everything as much as she can in order to concentrate on her new mixes which she hopes will break her into the music industry. That is until Chloe (Brittany Snow), one of the Vice president of the Barden Bella’s Acapella team, hears Becca singing and begs her to audition for the Bellas as they are in desperate need of someone with actual talent following a disastrous (and quite disgusting) defeat during last year’s competition season. Reluctantly Becca agrees and is accepted into the ranks of the Bellas which is under an authoritarian rule by President Aubrey (Anna Camp) who refuses to create a routine that is anything other than the one they lost with last year.
In order to stop the Bella’s from suffering an inevitable loss at the hands of Aubrey, Becca takes it upon herself to mix-up the Bella’s to get them performing fresh, new, and exciting routines which are sure to wow the judges and smash the competition.
For the most part, Pitch Perfect is a by the number’s American teen comedy film (It’s also based on a book which I didn’t realise until writing this review). The jokes have been done before, the character archetypes we all recognise, and the plot is very predictable. But what Pitch Perfect has that the others don’t is an excellent cast, brilliant writing, and the extremely enjoyable musical numbers that punctuate the film and give it a real heartbeat. For me, Pitch Perfect is the 2010’s equivalent of Mean Girls. It doesn’t break any new ground, but it presents an old formula in a new way and absolutely nails it.
Becca (Anna Kendrick) is a freshman at Barden University. She has dreams of being a professional DJ and music producer, and has absolutely no business being at Barden, but she attends so she can “pay her dues” to her father who is a professor at the institution.
A natural recluse, Becca avoids everyone and everything as much as she can in order to concentrate on her new mixes which she hopes will break her into the music industry. That is until Chloe (Brittany Snow), one of the Vice president of the Barden Bella’s Acapella team, hears Becca singing and begs her to audition for the Bellas as they are in desperate need of someone with actual talent following a disastrous (and quite disgusting) defeat during last year’s competition season. Reluctantly Becca agrees and is accepted into the ranks of the Bellas which is under an authoritarian rule by President Aubrey (Anna Camp) who refuses to create a routine that is anything other than the one they lost with last year.
In order to stop the Bella’s from suffering an inevitable loss at the hands of Aubrey, Becca takes it upon herself to mix-up the Bella’s to get them performing fresh, new, and exciting routines which are sure to wow the judges and smash the competition.
For the most part, Pitch Perfect is a by the number’s American teen comedy film (It’s also based on a book which I didn’t realise until writing this review). The jokes have been done before, the character archetypes we all recognise, and the plot is very predictable. But what Pitch Perfect has that the others don’t is an excellent cast, brilliant writing, and the extremely enjoyable musical numbers that punctuate the film and give it a real heartbeat. For me, Pitch Perfect is the 2010’s equivalent of Mean Girls. It doesn’t break any new ground, but it presents an old formula in a new way and absolutely nails it.
All the main characters in this film are fantastic, the Bella's are a really enjoyable group to spend time with and whilst some characters definitely have unlikable personas you still want to be around them to see just what antics they get up to next. Anna Kendrick is the show stealer here with her excellent comedic physicality and timing. Skylar Astin is also excellent as Jesse, a member of the Bella’s rivals the Treblemakers, and Becca’s love interest throughout the film. Arguably one of the weakest elements of the film, which only gets worse in the films sequels, is Rebel Wilson’s character Fat Amy. Now Fat Amy isn’t a bad character in this film, and Wilson’s performance is perfectly good, but she is the weakest part of the whole thing and seeing what her character turns into sours her role entirely in retrospect. Luckily she is kept on the sidelines most of the time for the first film and is only given the limelight a handful of times usually for a joke directed at her; something the sequels didn’t really adhere to as she became more central to the plot (and arguably being PP3’s main character).
I also adore John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks as the two commentators for the Acapella competitions. They are perhaps the funniest part of the entire film and it shows that they had a great time doing it because you can see the enjoyment in their faces as they make sarcastic comments about the performances, the performers, and each other.
Musically Pitch Perfect is also a big winner. I wouldn’t classify the film as a musical as such, but it does have many acapella performances in it and almost all of them are absolute winners. Even the Bella’s ‘boring’ performance which Aubrey insists they perform sounds great even if it does look a bit plain. The film saves the best for last though as the Bella’s perform an incredible mash up of Price Tag, Don’t You (Forget About Me), Just The Way You Are, Give Me Everything, Party in the U.S.A., and Turn the Beat Around. It’s the perfect song to get you on your feet, clapping or singing along and have a great time with friends. It also summarises everything great about being a part of that kind of team.
There’s almost nothing I dislike about Pitch Perfect. If you like comedies I think you’ll like it. There are certainly some jokes that fall flat, particularly the weird jokes about Aubrey’s vomit. But the rest of the film is so strong as a whole that those small discretions are insignificant to the greater picture. So if you’re ever in need of a good laugh, or to belt out some awesome songs, Pitch Perfect is the perfect film for it. If you’ve not seen it yet, you need to change that.
I also adore John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks as the two commentators for the Acapella competitions. They are perhaps the funniest part of the entire film and it shows that they had a great time doing it because you can see the enjoyment in their faces as they make sarcastic comments about the performances, the performers, and each other.
Musically Pitch Perfect is also a big winner. I wouldn’t classify the film as a musical as such, but it does have many acapella performances in it and almost all of them are absolute winners. Even the Bella’s ‘boring’ performance which Aubrey insists they perform sounds great even if it does look a bit plain. The film saves the best for last though as the Bella’s perform an incredible mash up of Price Tag, Don’t You (Forget About Me), Just The Way You Are, Give Me Everything, Party in the U.S.A., and Turn the Beat Around. It’s the perfect song to get you on your feet, clapping or singing along and have a great time with friends. It also summarises everything great about being a part of that kind of team.
There’s almost nothing I dislike about Pitch Perfect. If you like comedies I think you’ll like it. There are certainly some jokes that fall flat, particularly the weird jokes about Aubrey’s vomit. But the rest of the film is so strong as a whole that those small discretions are insignificant to the greater picture. So if you’re ever in need of a good laugh, or to belt out some awesome songs, Pitch Perfect is the perfect film for it. If you’ve not seen it yet, you need to change that.