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| Pitch Perfect (2012) |
Let me start off by saying this: I like a capella music. Always have, always will. And, this movie makes the best possible case for why a capella music is great. It also, strangely, makes a good case for why it can be considered boring. That's probably the best thing this movie does. When the Barden Bellas are doing the same old thing and not playing it up, it's slow and stale and boring. It doesn't matter how well they hit the notes; as with any live music, you need to be having fun and playing it up for the crowd and doing something new. When the a capella is like that here, from any band, it's great to watch. And it's even greater to listen to. I shouldn't need to say this, but they cast some really talented singers in this movie. That, of course, should be a given; you make a movie about a capella, you better get some damn good voices. And, thankfully, there are some damn good voices here. Anna Kendrick, Skyler Astin, Ben Platt, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, everyone else, they're all fantastic, and when they're in their respective groups, their voices complement each other really nicely. When the Barden Bellas are kicking ass in the final number, it's perfect. I'm not sure who was in charge of 'composing' these mixes, but they did a hecking fine job. In addition to being an a capella fan, I'm also a fan of mash-ups; when two or more songs mix into each other seamlessly and beautifully. The film does a good job of sprinkling just enough in throughout the film before the final number hits and blows you away.
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| Anna Kendrick as Becca |
You might think it's weird for me to be talking about the final scenes so extensively like this, but trust me, it's not a spoiler. This isn't one of those movies that has an unpredictable plot or leaves you guessing, because at its core, the movie's story has been done before. We've seen it a million times. A new prodigy comes into an established group with their own traditions, and they're not listened to at first, but eventually they soften to their ways and the team comes together to win the big championship. There’s always a big championship in a movie like this. There’s also the traditional ‘rival team that has won in the past and attempts sabotage’ story running underneath, and while it’s not a huge focus, or even treated like the main goal to overcome, it is there. The story even occasionally stretches to the completely unrealistic at times, such as the way the movie handles Nodes. The first time it’s brought up isn’t over the top or exaggerated: Nodes really are basically a death sentence for your singing career. The degree to which you’ll be able to sing after getting Nodes is grossly understated from that point forward, however. Chloe was singing far too well for someone with Nodes, and that’s before she somehow acquires a super sick bass as a result. I may not be able to speak to the validity of an American college treating it’s a capella bands the way they do, or if projectile vomiting like that is realistic or just for the joke, but the movie’s treatment of Nodes is where I can say with confidence the film loses me.
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| Adam DeVine as Bumper and Rebel Wilson as Fat Amy |
Despite all of this, I’m going to stand by my assertion that the movie is really well written. The strength of this movie isn’t in its story, it’s in its dialogue. The characters, even the ones that are extended versions of stereotypes, are all written really well, and all feel like real people. The funny thing is, even the characters aren’t that unique: the introverted, closed-off girl, the funny fat friend, the uptight, stuck-in-their-ways leader, the love interest that’s going to get through to the protagonist, they’re all here and, like the story beats, basically all fulfil the roles you’d expect them to fulfil. The difference here is, unlike with the story, the writing is strong enough to make the characters seem unique. The way they talk to each other, the relationships, maybe even the a capella setting, something makes it seem new. It could also be the comedy. The humour, when it’s not making Jew jokes for some reason, is really strong here. They go for a lot of different jokes in this movie: character jokes, dark humour, mean-spirited jokes, and they all seem to work with each other really well. Maybe because the dialogue and performances are somewhat conversational, maybe that’s why it all works, and the laid back tone also comes across with the ad-libs that clearly made it in to the movie. I say ‘clearly’ as if it stood out like a sore thumb, but it really didn’t. It’s obvious the cast were encouraged to ad-lib, with Rebel Wilson and Adam DeVine clearly doing the best job, but the tone overall really helps these ad-libs mix in with the rest of the writing really naturally. As someone who likes to ad-lib on stage/set, I appreciate that. Also, just quickly, John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks were consistently hilarious.
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| John Michael Higgins as John and Elizabeth Banks as Gail |
All the actors are funny, though. No one's outstanding, but no one's bad either, everyone plays their parts extremely effectively. Anna Kendrick is probably the highlight, as she's given the most to do and the biggest character growth. She and Skyler Astin have great chemistry, and Astin himself is fantastic in his role. Rebel Wilson and Adam DeVine are the comedic highlights, though Ben Platt gets his moments, as do everyone. Honestly, I'm really impressed with some of the minor characters here, and while everyone in either a capella group did great, there are others that really stood out to me. Christopher Mintz-Plasse was very funny in his limited appearance, and Joe Lo Truglio had me rolling in my seat. But, again, no one was bad in their roles, and everyone gets their moments of comedy, even if it took a long, long time for me to get behind Aubrey as a character. Anna Camp plays her extremely well, but I feel like her character was a little confused, and by that I mean the writers were a little confused when putting her together. I don't know, I just think that someone who screwed up on a national level like that would not be given nearly as many responsibilities as she's given. It kinda makes her story a little weak, and the fact that the movie waits so long to actually explain the why of Aubrey is also odd. The vomiting thing wasn't the crux of the character, we have to wait until about 20 minutes to the end of the movie to get some emotional payoff regarding why she is. I feel that if it had been sprinkled throughout the movie a little better, or at least hinted at, the audience could have been more on board with her as a character and why she's so insistent on just doing everything the same way. The reveal is truly shattering and it really makes you feel for her, but it just came too late. Maybe one more draft could have ironed all this out and you'd have a really solid story here.
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| Anna Camp as Aubrey and Brittany Snow as Chloe |
In the end, however, is Pitch Perfect (2012) the cinematic masterpiece that everyone was touting it as in the early 2010s? No, but it was never trying to be. All it wanted to be was a fun movie about a capella bands. And, in that sense, it succeeds wonderfully. Never seen the sequels. Will probably get around to them eventually. 8/10.
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