Movie 411: Pitch Perfect

Directed by: Jason Moore
Screenplay by: Kay Cannon
Novel by: Mickey Rapkin
Rated: PG-13

Plot summary: All Becca (Anna Kendrick) wants to do is produce music, but her father, a professor at Barden University, wants her to get a college education. After making a deal with her, that she participate in college for the semester and if she doesn’t like it he’ll allow her to move to LA to pursue her dream, she goes out and find the Barden Bellas, an a cappella all-girl singing group. And then the fun begins. All out college experience with rival a cappella singing groups, including the Barden Trebelmakers, an all-boy singing group … because, of course!

So, yep. No matter how many times I watch this movie (which is like 3x and counting) it still totally reminded me of Bring It On and similar. It’s your typical rival story with the backdrop of a college campus instead of high school and signing instead of cheerleading. But, despite that this story line has been done so many times (Bring It On, You Got Served, Drumline, etc), Pitch Perfect is hilarious! And yes, it’s about singing, but that can be overlooked for a bit because well, we’ve seen dancing, cheerleading, football, soccer, band, and just about everything else, but not about … ah, oh, well we did see singing (you didn’t forget Sister Act II, did you?). But this one is an a cappella competition! The story line is solid and well, I’m sorry, but rivals work. That’s why they keep doing it. And it’s a just a tad bit ridiculous with a touch of grossness (I mean, vomit? Really? Ick!)

The cast works too. Anna Kendrick (Becca) did an excellent job and I can’t go on without mentioning Rebel Wilson (Fat Amy). I’m sorry, Fat Amy did kinda steal the show. I mean, everyone loves the comic relief. And Skylar Astin (Jesse) also did an excellent job as Mr. Love Interest. And come one, any guy who watches The Breakfast Club is halfway to being decent enough for consideration 😉 j/k (ok, no I’m not).

The soundtrack is. Awesome! Loved it. And maybe soundtrack isn’t the right word. The movie score might be more accurate? I don’t know. Regardless, I bought it. The soundtrack that is. And I’ve listened to it countless of times. And it’s not just because it’s a cappella, but it is pretty cool that it is. I’ve always liked listening to a cappella tracks.

Overall, I like this movie. I’d categorize this as a total chick flick. There’s girl drama. Googly eyes. And cat fights. Seriously. So, if you can handle chick flicks, have at it. I think it’s DVD worthy. I mean, it’s already in my movie collection. It’s fun to watch and I know I’ll watch it more than twice so, ROI is within a month or two. So I’d recommend it, definitely.

Favorite Scene:
It has to be the final. I mean, come on, who doesn’t love the grand finale when you know it’s gonna rock. The fact that they did a “Don’t You Forget About Me” remix? Yeah, instant favorite. And the fact that they did the whole Judd Nelson fist pump tribute? Even better.

Most Irritating Scene:
Yep, this movie has an irritating scene for me. It’s that one scene where Benji rans after Becca after she blows up at the Regionals. I mean, he runs after her saying “Becca, wait! Wait, Becca!” and that’s when he sees that the singer of the winning group is actually in high school and not college. But we never find out what Benji wanted to tell Becca! I mean, why run after her? What was it that he wanted to say? I mean, I realize we needed a way for someone to see that the singer was in high school, but … I mean, there’s no closure! Maybe I’m nitpicking, but I really wanted to know why Benji chases after Becca. sighs.

Photo Credits: Rotten Tomatoes and Moviehole.net