Born Movie Reviews

Movie Review written by: Born Movie Reviews

RT Critics Rating: 8.1/10

Born Movie Reviews' Rating: 7/10

I swear, I have been performing Anna Kendrick's Cup Song ever since I saw Pitch Perfect. I mean why not? The song is catchy and you can make a simple beat out of a plastic cup. As long as you have one, you can sing a song with some percussion. The fact that the Cup Song is now a viral thing makes me have more hope in the world. At least this viral thing is healthy.

For the year of 2012, we can now create a trio of movies about the school life. Starting with high school, you can see The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a gorgeously directed film about friendship and relationships and finding oneself. On a lighter note is 21 Jump Street, going back to high school and finishing with a blast to college. And we finish with Pitch Perfect, where we are welcomed to college, the place where we meet the strangest people from all over the world.

Pitch Perfect begins by setting the premise, a conflict between Barden Univeristy's Bellas and the Treblemakers, also from the same college. After a singer vomits on stage during her solo, the Bellas' chance of winning are ruined. The film jumps four months later and revolves around Beca Mitchell (Anna Kendrick), a Barden freshman who has no interest in attending college and instead wants to pursue a career of music making in Los Angeles. In response, Beca's father, a professor at the university, makes her a proposition: If she joins a club and still does not want to remain at college after a year, he will pay for Beca to move to LA. She soon joins the Barden Bellas, and finds herself caught in the fight for the championship in the national a capella competition, against the Treblemakers.

Like all other films of its kind, Pitch Perfect wanders in conventional territory in the storytelling department. You have typical character introduction sequences, "awkward moment" scenes, and a nice five to ten minute scene where the main character sits quietly and thinks. Usually it is a scene where the protagonist is feeling sorry for him/herself or some other character. For sure, the plot is predictable and the narrative paces at certain formulaic patterns. As a result, director Jason Moore attempts to deliver bizarre eggs that hatch once in a while throughout the film. The key in enjoying the film is accepting the weird rules that the film plays in, because even though it wanders in familiar plotlines, it goes down Wacky Lane.

As a cast, the Bellas are diverse but quirky beyond belief. Members of the group include Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), a horny girl, and an asian who is so quiet that nobody can hear her. Every scene with Fat Amy is hilarious and entertaining, definitely the breakout performance of the film, and in some ways the performance reminds me of Melissa McCarthy from Bridesmaids. Anna Kendrick has been in a nice variety of films ever since she was little, from Rocket Science to even, sadly, the Twilight films. But here, Kendrick proves that she is fully capable of carrying a film on her shoulders. After viewing Pitch Perfect, I am very excited to see her lead a drama film that targets adults instead of college students.

As for the music, Pitch Perfect is loud entertainment, with nice remixes of famous pop songs in the past couple years. A few of the songs were overplayed by the radio so much that I began to despise them. However, here, through a capella performances, the songs feel fresh and new again, especially when they are sung in sync with another song together. The choreography is excitingly crafted, and the dance sequences are most definitely crowd-pleasing. Here, you can tell that every actor is having so much fun while filming, and there is no reason why you should not join the fun.

In conclusion, Pitch Perfect works in terms of a musical comedy. Using interesting characters, energetic music scenes, and a freakishly comedic tone, the film manages to win over its cliche plot and familiar story. For sure, it is not award-winning material, but it is surely one of the best films of the year where you watch it with a group. It knocks down High School Musical and breeds jealousy into Glee.