Movie Review: Pitch Perfect 2

Jumping on the Glee bandwagon, the first Pitch Perfect rode its waves helping to make mash-ups and a cappella cool again (was it ever cool to begin with?), but how did the second one fare now that Glee is over and a cappella isn’t exactly a hot topic any more?

We’ve seen it time and time again, a film does well at Box Office and a sequel is announced regardless of whether or not there is still a story to tell, and Pitch Perfect 2 is no different. There’s not exactly a coherent storyline – just the vague idea that the Barden Bellas must win an international singing competition, yet somehow this lack of plot doesn’t detract from the film’s enjoyment at all.

We begin with the Bellas performing for and accidentally mooning the President (hilarity ensues), resulting in the group being disbanded. They have one more chance at redemption in the form of the international competition, a festival where the world’s greatest a cappella groups compete for the crown. The group’s main rivals for the film is the stereotypically German Das Sound Machine with their slick performances, black attire (obviously villainous) and overly German pronunciations. At first the German thing is funny, and then it’s not, it grows old quite quickly.

Aside from the usual suspects, there’s the addition of a new Bella, Emily Junk (played by Hailee Steinfeld off of True Grit), who holds her own throughout – I thought the introduction of a new character was interesting, not vital to the story, but a nice dynamic all the same – we’re possibly being set up for a new female lead for the next film (because of course there’s going to be a third). Rebel Wilson’s Fat Amy is as on point as ever, in fact she’s even cruder than before and Anna Kendrick as Becca delivers a suitably geeky but cool performance as always. High notes include director Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins and their back and forth banter as a cappella commentators.

As far as sequels go, Pitch Perfect 2 is pretty much everything you could ask for, the jokes are consistent, the laughs keep coming, the tender moments are just tender enough without being cringe-worthy, the performances are strong, and I’m still singing that damn Flashlight song…