Pitch Perfect (2012)

Director: Jason Moore
Writer: Kay Cannon

Notable Cast

Beca- Anna Kendrick
Jesse- Skyler Astin
Aubrey- Anna Camp
Chloe- Brittany Snow
Fat Amy- Rebel Wilson
Lilly Onakuramara- Hana Mae Lee
Cynthia Rose Adams- Ester Dean
Staci- Alexis Knapp
Benji- Ben Platt
Bumper- Adam Devine

 

Introduction

 

It’s hard to believe this movie came out almost 10 years ago.

Supposedly it was based on a book and Elizabeth Banks liked it so much she helped bring it to the big screen. This was also at the height of Glee’s popularity so the timing was something like this was perfect.

Other than Anna Kendrick’s involvement (I’d been following her movies since Twilight), that common ground with Glee piqued my interest and I saw it on HBO when it premiered some random Saturday night.

My first impression was mixed, to put it mildly. There were a few decisions made by the writers I wholeheartedly disagree with, but the highlights lying in their wake shouldn’t be completely overlooked.

My motivations for finally putting a review of this movie down on “paper”— there are a few, most of which came from a recent revisit, and I’ll get to all of them at some point in this post.

I won’t be shy about calling out the flaws as I see them, but there’ll be just as much to be celebrated elsewhere.

To quote various YouTube videos about tv and movies, a spoiler alert is now in effect.

Not just for Pitch Perfect and its sequels but 2 similarly themed TV series that happen to be among my all time favorites.

 

The Plot 

Once upon a time, there was a collegiate show choir called the Barden Bellas. They were the top show choir in the nation. Until one fateful competition when Aubrey Posen let her nerves get the better of her and she puked during the choir's performance, costing the Bellas the first place trophy... and the respect of their peers. The resulting incident had since gone viral.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to do the rest of the review like this, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.
So from the get go, this movie already started on the wrong foot for me. This wasn’t just puke. It was projectile vomiting. Speaking as someone who got sick in school as a kid and was teased about it, I cannot for the life of me understand why exaggerated puke is used in movies or why it’s used for comedic effect. I could blame a certain Monty Python sketch but I don’t know if they’re the first ones to do it.
All of that being said, we do circle back to this point later in the movie, and while it is overblown and gross, the comedy that comes out of it- it was too ridiculous not to find hilarious. So I guess it depends on the circumstances in how it’s used.

 Also-- while these vocal groups are technically acapella groups, I'm going to continue using the phrase "show choir" to describe them.

Fast forward to the next fall, aspiring music producer Beca enrolls in the Bellas college. And after one of the Bellas overhears her singing in the shower, she recruits her to join the group.

After some coaxing, she convinces her to harmonize with her in the showers. And they sing David Guetta/Sia’s “Titanium”.
It’s hard not to echo Beca’s reluctance. It’s PG13 so nothing is shown, but what would you do if some strange girl asked you to sing when you have no clothes on? 

So they have the auditions for the group where everyone sings “since you’ve been gone” with varying levels of success (or lack thereof). Beca shows up late and auditions with something of her own. And Anna Kendrick wound up becoming a viral sensation- in the best way.

“Cups” was based on an older song, but she performed it accapella while using a cup as a percussion instrument. This led to a fully produced version of the song to be recorded and released. She did a music video that got tons of views, played a lot on the radio, and several subsequent videos were made by people who wanted to teach others to do the cup routine too.
If anything cool came out of this movie, that was it. I watched the video once and I actually learned the cup routine from YouTube. Whether I can do it now, I’m not sure. 

After auditions are done, the Bellas go through their own hell week and are drilled to the bone. Then they got over songs and Beca points out “there’s nothing from this century on here.”

So begins another major source of conflict in the story: Aubrey is THOROUGLY convinced that singing these songs will get them back to championship status. More specifically, performing the same three songs for every competition. 
I wish I was kidding about this... I have nothing against "The Sign," "Eternal Flame" or "Turn the Beat Around"... or any songs predating the 21st century for that matter. But how STUPID is this plot device? I know this is a movie and not everything is meant to be realistic, but be reasonable! No show choir or acapella group would do the same setlist for every competition they go to. They don't always have the same judges for each competition, but if they did, this would be greatly frowned upon.
Even more frustrating, nobody but Beca wants to stand up to her or makes any attempts to change this asinine ritual. 
I'm sorry... this stupid decision on the part of the writers (whether it's the book or the movie, I have no idea) kills a lot of potential joy that could be had watching this movie. 

Drama within the group aside, there's a side plot where one of the recently inducted Treblemakers (aka the rival all men's show choir on campus) tries his darnedst to be Beca's friend... and possibly more. But she wants no part of it. 

Later on, it's revealed that she has an issue trusting people because of her parent's divorce. Part of the reason her dad insisted she went to college for a year (it was part of a deal where, if she fulfilled her end, he'd help pay for her to move out to LA to begin her producing career) was to make friends. And through her time with Bellas, she finds more friends than she'd probably had her entire life and eventually, she lets her guard down with everyone else around her. 

Beca is probably my favorite character Anna Kendrick ever played. I'm not jazzed about the idea of remixing music, but it'd be cool to have that kind of talent. And I can relate to her having walls up around herself. I still have trouble being myself around people, even into my 30's. 
But it took me several semesters in college before I made the friendships I did, so I can speak from experience that college is worth it if only for that. 
While rewatching it the other day, I also remembered something else: throughout the movie, she wears a shirt with a button-down shirt over it. I thought this was a cool fashion statement and I made a few purchases in part to emulate it. Although, to be honest, I typically wear a sweater around the house anyway because that's what I'm comfortable in. 

Her friend (and later boyfriend) Jesse is also one of those movie characters I really liked spending time with. His excellent taste in movies may have a little to do with that (one was "The Breakfast Club"- aka my favorite movie of all time), but the conversations he had with Beca about music in movies were really fascinating to me. I'm not the most talkative person, but whenever conversations skew in that direction, that's one of the few times I feel free to open up and be myself. 

After several ups and downs, Aubrey finally deciding to loosen up the reins, and the Bella reinvented themselves, adopting mashups into their setlists, the movie finally arrives at the final competition night. 

Between the tight medley the Treblemakers did and the Bellas doing the coolest remix of "Don't You (Forget about me)" among several other songs, it was a tough call. And of course, the Bellas win.

Then the sequel comes along, a wardrobe malfunction blows everything up and they have to start from scratch again... but that's another movie. 
There's a third movie, but I don't remember much about it. It may have been vomit-free (part 2 has that in common with it, thankfully), but I think my issue was with the story. Something about it just didn't grab me like the first one did... with its flaws and all. 

...I didn't know where else to put this... 

I don't know what it is about show choir stuff in media, but why does it seem like the judges or commentators never care enough to do their jobs? In Glee, they always get random judges and they're there because their agents put them there. 

In this movie, it's Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins, and they're always talking crap about all of the contestants... which is kinda weird because she's one of the producers of the movies. But it might be on the same level of irony as Jane Lynch (a show choir veteran) playing the mortal enemy of Mr. Schuster and The New Directions. 

Soundtrack

Not gonna lie... I got the soundtrack specifically for that epic championship winning number for the Bellas where The Breakfast Club song was among the ones involved in the mash-up. Today was the second time I'd listened to it since I got it.

While it has all of the songs from the movie, there were a few disappointments.

The radio version of "Cups" with the full production wasn't a part of it... I can only assume the radio single came after the soundtrack came out and they just missed the opportunity. (According to Wikipedia, a subsequent soundtrack was released, including any songs missing from the one I have)

It's also a pet peeve of mine with movie soundtracks when the songs aren't sequenced in the same order they appear in the movie. The Bellas finale medley is track #11 and there's 4 songs listed after it.  

Curtain Call

Probably the coolest thing about revisiting this movie was the cast... in my view, Anna Kendrick was the biggest star going in, but over time, several others took this opportunity and made huge careers for themselves.

After the huge success of "Cups," Anna Kendrick insisted that she didn't want to launch a music career... but she continues to sing as Princess Poppy in the "Trolls" franchise alongside Justin Timberlake and many others.

I'm pretty sure I saw Rebel Wilson in "Bridesmaids" before this movie. Her character in that movie was not very nice. Not just the fact she read Annie's diary ("I did not know it was your diary. I thought it was just a very sad handwritten book"), but she conspires with her brother to boot Annie out of the apartment when she's not even paying rent. Ridiculous!
Throughout the franchise, Fat Amy is definitely one of the most memorable characters and even though her heart is in the right place, she isn't always the nicest person. But since this movie, I'd seen her in "How to Be Single" with Dakota Johnson- again, she plays someone who gives her friend tough love, but she means well. 
And more recently, she hosted the dog grooming competition show "Pooch Perfect" and she was a really great host. I don't agree with all of the design choices with these dogs (particularly the use of fur dyes), but I kinda hope it comes back for another season... as long as she's hosting. 

Again, to continue reaping the benefits of the ongoing show choir bandwagon in media, Skyler Astin was cast in "Glee" as the head of rival show choir Throat Explosion. I vaguely remember seeing him at Nationals, making a comment that everyone recognizes The New Directions was "that choir" where that one guy died... referencing the tragic loss of Cory Monteith they spent the better part of Season 5 struggling with.
But most recently, he was Zoey's friend (later boyfriend) Max on "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist"... it was fun, but also strange seeing him again in this movie. Watching him with Anna Kendrick had me thinking "this is weird, it's like he's cheating on Zoey"... even though that show hadn't come around until recently.

Side-note: I'm still not over the fact that show got cancelled. It NEEDS to come back. 

Despite the fact his character didn't become a Treblemaker until the very end of the movie, Ben Platt made out like a bandit... he became Evan Hansen, a role that earned him a Tony and he will reprise that role in the upcoming movie adaptation. 

Adam Devine was a jerk as Bumper... but I'd seen him in two roles since that redeemed him in my eyes. He was one of the interns in the Anne Hathaway movie "The Intern." Granted, he wasn't the perfect guy because he had a falling out with one of the girls at About The Fit and had to take Robert DeNiro's advice to win her back, but he had some good moments.
He also played himself on an edition of "The Price is Right: At Night" where he helped donate a lot of prize money to charity.  

...

Other than revisiting some of these musical numbers, one reason to revisit the movie is Lilly. She's so soft-spoken, you have to be absolutely quiet to understand what she's saying and the more you see the movie, the more you'll understand. She says some really random crap and it's pretty hilarious. 

Then she finds her voice later on and it turns out she's a bad-ass beat boxer.

On a slightly different note, she also makes an angel in a huge puddle of puke... yeah, it's gross, but it's also kinda awesome. 

And Cynthia Rose's name came from the Prince song "Starfish & Coffee," which was based on the childhood ancedotes of his then-girlfriend, Susannah. (IMDb has confirmation of this, so that's pretty cool)

I just can't help but feel like this movie could have been so much better if certain creative decisions were different. I still think the "same three song" setlist was a stupid idea and they could just as easily have figured something else out. Like Aubrey was just afraid to incorporate any 21st century music. The fact she's an Army brat doesn't give her enough of an excuse to be a complete tyrant and act like the victim when the others question her authority. 

One final "Glee" connection: the Bellas lost out on making the title competition, but earn their way back in because the next team in line got disqualified. 

I can't help but feel "Glee" took a page from that book and used a similar plot device. 

In Season 4, they lost a competition when Marley fainted during their performance. This happened because she was overdosing on laxatives to lose weight and her eating disorder finally caught up with her. All of this was brought on because someone else in the Glee club was bullying her, yet when they lost, she got all of the blame for it. 

Sorry, I'm still mad about that.. especially since the Glee club needed to win Nationals or else would have to disband... as someone who lived and breathed the show, it felt like the end of the world. (Whether this was at the point the show was starting to lose traction is up to individual discretion. I was on board until the final season when they tried to introduce a new cast of characters and it just didn't have that same magic).

But after a few depressing weeks, The New Directions was revived because The Warblers was disqualified for using steroids. Maybe not the best writing, but I didn't care.

In "Pitch Perfect," the Bellas were able to go to the title competition because another team was disqualified for having a high school student in their rooster. It's an all-collegiate competition, so at least that logic makes sense. 

Beyond all this, I don't have much else to add in terms of a conclusion.