Ever wanted to learn all about the gritty, seedy underbelly of competitive collegiate a cappella singing? No? Neither did I. But fear not, weary cinema goers and ‘Glee’ haters, this is not the cheesy car crash you expect. Already the sleeper hit of summer in the U.S., ‘Pitch Perfect’ is hitting our shores and what’s better, it stars some home-grown talent.
Beca (Anna Kendrick) is a freshman at Barden University who’s only there courtesy of a free ride thanks her professor father. More than anything, Beca wants to move to LA and become a music producer, and creates phat musical mash-ups in her spare time.
Forced by her father to "participate" in college life, Beca joins The Bellas, an all female campus a cappella group. The little island of misfit toys led by Aubrey (Anna Camp) and Chloe (Brittany Snow) must rise from the embarrassment of last year's finals performance and beat their rivals - their all-male counterpart The Treblemakers. Could it be Beca who ends up breathing life into this passionate yet stale group?
PITCH PERFECT - TRAILER
This film could have gone south very very quickly, falling deep into the clichés of a young or musical genre, but it doesn’t. Comedy and the music are well and truly at the forefront of this feature, with its little character development and predictable romantic subplot playing second fiddle throughout - there is a grateful lack of eye rolling at its attempts to forcefully inject sappy heartwarming moments of clarity and resolution. ‘Pitch Perfect’ never takes itself too seriously given its ridiculous concept, striking a perfect balance between the supreme talent involved in the skill of a cappella singing and its story.
Oscar and Tony award nominee Anna Kendrick takes centre stage here once again, showing off her impressive vocal talents as she’s done before in ‘Camp’ and ‘The Marc Pease Experience’. All the Bella girls are fantastic but the MVP award has to go to Australian Rebel Wilson as Fat Amy, with an honorable mention to comedian Hana Mae Lee as the low talker, Lilly. Both girls shred every frame of their screen time with effortless comedic timing and one-liners, as well as physical comedy prowess. Actor Elizabeth Banks, who also serves as a producer of the film, plays one half of an a cappella commentary duo alongside John Michael Higgins. Both are a passive aggressive and catty 21st century version of Statler and Waldorf - producing some of the best moments on screen.
‘Pitch Perfect’ never takes itself too seriously given its ridiculous concept.
Storyline aside, this film is great and irresistibly fun. Any lulls in its fast pace and high energy are fleeting. The laughs fly at you hard and fast, never missing a beat, and the music is infectious and invigorating in this rarely-heard or appreciated a cappella format. If you love ‘Glee’ you’re going to love ‘Pitch Perfect’, if you hate ‘Glee’... you’re going to love ‘Pitch Perfect’.