Chick flicks have long remained at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to entertainers. Most of the time, chick flicks are usually disregarded since they are catered towards teenage girls, but we’ve recently seen a surge in popularity for these films due to hits like Eighth Grade and Booksmart. However, this semi-revolution started back in 2012, with the release of the fantastic Pitch Perfect. This was a funny and endearing film, it managed to capture a huge audience despite being mainly catered towards that same teenage girl demographic, and showed how this genre had a lot more yet to tell!
How to Download Pitch Perfect
You can download the film from a digital store. You can also stream it. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like musicals and comedies, check out also our reviews of Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
The Movie Review
Beca is a freshman at Barden University who aspires to live in Los Angeles and work as a DJ. Beca is, to put it mildly, uninterested in college. Her father is a professor there and encourages her to get active by joining clubs. Beca and her admirer, Jesse, begin working at the school radio station. Beca is invited to join the singing group The Barden Bellas after Chloe, one of the lead girls, hears Beca’s voice in the shower.
Jesse ultimately decides to join the competing all-boy a cappella group The Treble Makers. Beca quickly comes to the conclusion that The Bellas are in dire need of fresh music if they are to enhance their reputation and reach the finals of a competition. However, Aubrey, the group’s leader, is incredibly stubborn and won’t let them change the music. Everything starts to come together as the conflict between these females and The Treble Makers intensifies.
I couldn’t stop laughing the entire time I watched Pitch Perfect. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Kay Cannon, the screenwriter for 30 Rock and New Girl, was in charge of adapting the script. This is Cannon’s debut project as a screenwriter, and it’s safe to say that this new musical is on point. I had very little hope for this movie going in, so I’ve come out with a better experience than most. It is a well-executed musical, with people only singing when the story needs it, and never ruining the allure of the chick-flick that’s present here.
The film consists of a cast of whacky and outlandish characters, all of which are well-acted and fun to explore. They show that Chloe and Aubrey seem to be suffering from a case of ‘staleness’, they need new blood and yet Aubrey is too stubborn to change her ways.
This is explored well through the performances of Anna Camp and Brittany Snow, who portray the dynamic really well and have great comedic timing. However, besides recruiting the phenomenal Ana Kendrick as Beca, they also call on Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), Stacie (Alexis Knapp), Cynthia Rose (Ester Dean), and Lilly (Hana Mae Lee). This diverse cast of characters is genuinely the highlight here, and I loved seeing their sisterly bond develop throughout the film.
If you’re looking for something visually exciting though, that’s not what you will find here. I’m not saying that this film looks ugly or even incoherent, in fact it looks quite decent. However, it lacks the bravado and the charisma of other musicals of its kind. The set design in particular, it’s more grounded in realism so it feels mundane, which wouldn’t be a bad thing if the camera work was done in a way to highlight the absurdity of it a bit more. That took away from the overall experience, as the cinematography could have made this film look even better.
The Verdict
Pitch Perfect is a perfect example of films simply and solely existing to amuse the audiences, and it does so ostensibly well in style. Of course, almost all films aim to entertain you in one way or the other, but they all approach it in different ways. Some wish to make you laugh and feel good, meanwhile others try to impart wisdom and convey significant truths. Pitch Perfect is a clever mix of both, where it does impart a pinch of wisdom, without ever putting its entertainment factors at risk.
