Pitch Perfect: Review By moviegeek

I don't particularly like a cappella music. I admire the skill and craft put into it, but listening to it for enjoyment? Not my cup of tea. Pitch Perfect is about the cutthroat, sexist world of a cappella singers. The story involves aspiring DJ, Beca (Anna Kendrick) as she moves into a brand new college. She is not excited. But her dad, one of the teachers at the school, wants her to stay. He makes her a deal: Join one extracurricular group, and if she still doesn't want to be there, he'll support her decision to not continue college.

What group does she choose? Here we meet the Bellas, an all-girls a cappella group. After a fiasco the previous year during competition, they are desperate for recruits. And the men's a cappella group is destroying the competition. You can fill in the blanks from here. As the group fills out with unique members, we learn about the new things Beca brings to the table, and how the previous leaders are resistant to change, and blah blah. There's nothing out of the ordinary here. I realize few will want to read a lengthy review judging this film on the cinematic qualities and the such, so I'll make it easier to read. If you're any bit curious about this film, here are 8 things I now know having seen the film:

1) Rebel Wilson steals the show. The name may not ring a bell right off the bat. This Australian girl broke out with her small role in Bridesmaids as Annie's roommate. She once again plays a character that's a few fries short of a happy meal. Meet Fat Amy. And she had the crowd roaring with laughter. From her ridiculous antics to her random commentary throughout, I have a feeling that this role will be putting her in quite a few more films in the near future.

2) The film is essentially Glee with touches of Bring It On. And while it may not be as much goofy fun as Bring It On, at least it doesn't bog itself down with preachy emotional subplots...not pointing fingers *cough* Glee. The predictable competitions and the eclectic group match the formula that Glee established.

3) What few emotional subplots the film has feel wildly out of place. Take Beca's subtle annoyance with her father for divorcing her mother. At one point they're sitting in the kitchen talking, and she brushes upon the matter. But instead of confronting the issue, her dad just changes the topic. Even the romance between Beca and Jesse (Skylar Astin) feels disjointed. Hey, I don't expect to be moved by the film, but if you're going to add a stray plot into the film, finish what you started.

4) The poster for this film is identical to Bridesmaids. Wannabe.

5) The music is strictly for competition's sake. What I mean by that is that this isn't a musical. None of the songs that are sung have anything to do with what the characters are feeling. They're all just part of a set list to sing.

6) Anna Kendrick is adorable. I loved her in Up in the Air, and I loved how the same character resurfaced in 50/50. (I'm kidding, but she was pretty much playing the same person again.) This time around, she's given a much different role. Firstly, she's leading the film. Secondly, it's strictly a comedy. No drama. And lastly, her character isn't the collected girl who has it all put together. Instead she's a bit of a rebel, underachiever type. To me, she didn't fit the role at all. But hey, she's still adorable.

7) Barf jokes. You know the infamous Bridesmaids scene where the ladies.. ahem.. relieve themselves in the bathroom? Well we get some of that here. Vomit isn't humorous, so when the film resorted to this gag not once, but twice, I was not amused.

8) The film never scratches much beyond the surface. It moves along nicely. The jokes come frequently and even if they aren't all that funny, the movie bounces along to the next gag quickly. This is a refreshing trait in a comedy, especially when many these days want to saturate on a joke for minutes on end before moving along to something new.

I look at this list and it's very negative. Pitch Perfect is quite enjoyable, even with all the faults. What do I remember about this movie? Rebel Wilson. Fat Amy really does knock it out of the park. This is a forgettable film, but certainly not an awful one. With the help of a fun cast, it's always quick and breezy, sometimes charming and hilarious, and rarely anything more than you'd expect.