Pitch
Perfect was a true underdog story back in 2012. The unexpected hit
comedy hit during the peak of the Glee phenomenon, but was largely promoted by
online campaigns and word-of-mouth, inspiring not only a best-selling
soundtrack but a wave of sing-a-long screenings. It's a fun, spirited college
romp in the mold of Bring ItOn; the outsiders must come together to win when everyone says they can't.
So what's left to do for the eagerly-anticipated sequel? Not much,
apparently. While funny at times and those crazy Barden Bellas still cool to
hang out with, Pitch Perfect 2 is like a perfectly decent cover
version of its predecessor.
Pitch Perfect 2 isn't terrible or anything like that; if
you dig the mash-ups of modern day hits and a few old school jams (they
actually dropped A Tribe Called Quest's "Scenario"!!!!), you'll find
it's impossible not to singalong with the Bellas. The problem is that it doesn't
do anything particularly new. The characters, who we still love, are in the
same place they were before, and the stakes are artificially
"higher". Rather than merely winning the university's championship,
now it's the A Capella World Championship. The challenge is bigger, but
everything else is all-too familiar. It's a common issue with sequels, and
frankly it doesn't matter whether it's this or a massive blockbuster like Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Elizabeth Banks pulls double-duty this
time, making her directorial debut while returning as half of the snarky
commentating duo alongside John Michael Higgins. They're present when the
3-time champion Bellas suffer an epic humiliation, in front of Barack and
Michelle Obama no less, which becomes a national scandal. That's what happens
when Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) tears her too-tight clothing on a day when she's
chosen to go commando. But it leaves a black mark on the entire
"sport", and the Bellas are suspended from competition. The only way
to get reinstated is to win the world championships which, you guessed it; no
American a capella group has ever been able to do. Meanwhile, the senior Bellas
must also prepare for life after college. Beca (Anna Kendrick) has taken an
internship at a record studio where her boss (Keegan-Michael Key) is a complete
lunatic. That she's looking forward while the other girls are focused on the
championships causes a rift in the squad that may not be repaired. If there's
any hope it will come from the group's newest member, Emily (Hailee Steinfeld),
an eager newcomer whose mother (Katey Sagal, in a small but effective role) was
once a legendary Bella. Emily shares Beca's talent for songwriting but lacks
her cynicism, which has only gotten worse with age.
Penned by Kay Cannon (who wrote the
original), Pitch Perfect 2 has both too much going on and not
enough. There are subplots dangled everywhere, many of them slight variations
on stuff we've already seen. Fat Amy and the obnoxious Bumper (Adam Devine)
continue their awkward flirtation; and Emily's journey is basically a less
interesting copy of what Beca went through before. She gets a chance at love
with the Treblemakers' resident magician, Benji (Ben Platt), and must learn to
find her own voice. The humor is definitely more mean-spirited this time
around, too, and simply doesn't connect the way it did before. Was Higgins'
commentator character as viciously mean, racist and sexist last time? One
Bella, who happens to be an illegal immigrant, jokes that she'll probably die
trying to break back into the country. Why is that funny? Even Fat Amy's
zingers don't quite have the same "zing". There's a desperation to
the jokes this time around wasn't there before. Worse, the sense of
companionship between the Bellas just isn't there, and that has always been the
film's strongest asset, not the songs. Individually, the ladies fall into their
roles without much variation. Hana Mae Lee is back as the quiet Asian with the
disturbing non sequiturs; Alexis Knapp's character is still slutty (but much
quieter this time), and so forth. Steinfeld is a solid actress with a lot of
musical talent (she showed a little bit of it in Begin Again last year) but she's not yet ready
to carry Pitch Perfect on her shoulders, assuming that is the
plan
There are plenty of other times when the
film hits just the right comedic tune, and they tend to be the big sing-off
scenes. Banks shows real talents for comedic staging in a raucous battle at the
home of the world’s #1 a capella fan (David Cross). Not only does it feature
the surprisingly harmonic Green Bay Packers, but the Bellas' top rivals, the
deathly-serious Germans known as Das Sound Machine. Their leader is so
beautiful Beca can't bear to insult her: "Your sweat smells like cinnamon!”
she weakly retorts. The German squad, who Fat Amy cleverly dubs
"Deutchbags", are hilariously evil and worthy of their own spinoff. Pitch Perfect Drei, maybe?
Pitch Perfect 2 isn't going to win any points for
originality, and its "girl power" message is basically just
background noise now, but it's hard to completely hate the Barden Bellas no
matter how far off-key they may be.
Rating: 3 out of 5
