Quick Review: Pitch Perfect (2012)

PITCH PERFECT

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
OCTOBER 19, 2013

Anna Kendrick is a beautiful and talented actress, but she isn’t even able to make “Pitch Perfect” any more than a lady-orientated comedy in the vein of “Glee” and “Bring It On.” Once again, with the rag-tag group of misfits who must work through their differences to win the championship, “Pitch Perfect” relies on the same hand full of situations that carry every single competition comedy. Director Jason Moore also relies on too many comedians that I do not find funny like Rebel Wilson and Adam DeVine, who make this PG-13 film that could have possibly toed the line feel PG at best. Leaning on projectile vomit gags, loose character traits, and some strange and out of place play-by-play commentating from Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins, “Pitch Perfect” never feels funny.

Between characters completely unwilling to change and elements that play no pertinent part, like one of the characters’ love of movies and another character’s affinity for magic, the film wastes so many opportunities. What the film does have is an excellent a capella soundtrack with mash-ups and incredible vocal performances from all involved, producing many goosebumps-inducing moments. Had “Pitch Perfect” pushed the envelope some more and taken less of a lead from a series like “Glee,” I could have felt much more about the film, but instead it feels like just another spin-off of that musical show and does little for the singing and dancing genre.