Pitch Perfect as a series had a good run. The first film in the franchise was a fantastic, original, and unique take on singing competitions which made it super fun to watch with exciting new characters and a stellar story. Not to mention, the second film took this to even greater heights with its exceedingly funny comedy, and a more intimate character story added into the mix with new characters. However, as is the case with most comedy films, eventually they turn into actual cash grabs as the quality completely degrades and they become a shell of their former self. That is exactly what happened to this franchise, with the release of Pitch Perfect 3 in 2017.
How to Download Pitch Perfect 3
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.
The Movie Review
After the previous movie, the Bellas parted ways. However, the girls are having a difficult time coping because they are not content with their current situation in life. Beca leaves her work as a music producer, meanwhile, the estranged father of Fat Amy is pursuing her, and the rest of the girls are also here and there between jobs and life. One day, Emily invites the girls to a performance, but the girls are merely the audience while she is leading the new version of the Bellas. Aubrey desperately wants to sing together once more, so she leverages the military connections with her father to get into the USO. They travel to Europe where they compete to be DJ Khaled’s opening act. Their new rivals are led by Calamity, a ferocious opponent to say the least.
Elizabeth Banks departs from the director seat in exchange for Trish Sie, the lady that directed the 2014 Step Up: All In film, which wasn’t great at all… Now, with a directorial change as severe as this, there are bound to be a few hiccups. First off, this change wouldn’t have been that big of an issue if the scriptwriters simply had an idea of where to take the franchise, but they didn’t, and that results in a cluster of random scenes combined together which they thought was a viable film for some reason.
Making their documentary about the Bellas are Gail and John, who are constantly there to annoy the girls. While they were funny in the first film because they were there for short bursts of time, here they have more screen presence which comes off as obnoxious. That’s the story of this film, the things that were funny in the previous films and used in a specific context, are now used wholeheartedly here which makes everything just feel extremely obnoxious. For instance, Fat Amy is treated as the second main character, and she receives a huge amount of screen time doing random antics that make no sense.
The opening scene sets the tone for the whole film, and you know immediately that it’ll be bad. The women sing Britney Spears’ Toxic on a yacht in front of a group of intimidating-looking males. After the song’s coda, Fat Amy smashes through a window ceiling, sprays the crowd with fire extinguisher foam, and screams at them to leave. Everyone makes their exit, and then the yacht abruptly explodes. But that’s something you’d never even dream of seeing in a Pitch Perfect film.
Thankfully, there is one thing that saves this film from being a total disaster. That’s the music. The music is just as good as you would expect it to be, it’s catchy, and poppy and it really brings everything together. Unfortunately, the context for everything going on here is just absurd. Not to mention, with the budget increase, the visuals see an overhaul and the amount of CGI that is used comes off as off-putting.
The Verdict
In the end, Pitch Perfect 3 is an abject failure. It’s disappointing to watch a series that may have started it all be this uninspired and sloppy in a year full of female-centric comedies that managed to be tremendously entertaining. It’s a film that forces itself to be so much more than the previous installations, but in a franchise that was meant to portray strong female leads in a singing battle filled with fun and excitement, this turns out to be nothing more than a cop-out comedy. If you’re looking for light amusement, have been attached to these characters, and really, really want to see this one, you might still leave disappointed.
