Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.
The jokes are a little hit and miss, but when the film risks going off-beat it’s quite appealing.
Kendrick and Wilson have the right kind of sass to entertain; they may not be as glamorous as the kids in Glee, but in Pitch Perfect, they seem like the girls who are having all the fun.
The plot won’t surprise but it’s fun and freaky in equal measure.
It’s the kind of silly you can only get away with when your writing is very smart. A little bit odd and very, very funny.
Pitch Perfect is a surprisingly harmonious mash-up of Mean Girls, Bring It On and DodgeBall, with just enough decent gags (courtesy of 30 Rock veteran Kay Cannon) to make its predictable oddballs-learning-to-function-as-a-team plot bearable.
The plotting is predictable, but many of the numbers are show-stoppers, and several performers — especially Rebel Wilson as a chubby Tasmanian — look like stars of the future.
On most levels, though, it's aca-ceptable, and in the case of lovebirds Kendrick and Astin, a fair bit more than that.
The success of Glee may have opened the door to this kind of fizzy talent-show flick, with its token pretence of valuing teamwork, but it might help to feel that we’re watching humans.
The soundtrack's ironic bent might dissuade older viewers (Simple Minds are venerated), but they'd be missing out on one of the best musical comedies since A Mighty Wind. The song's the same, but Pitch Perfect is a great cover version.
Oh, the gag-packed trailer spoiled the entire film.
Highly amusing.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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