It’s not hard to see why the first Pitch Perfect was such a box office success, even if it wasn’t an
exemplarily great film. The timing was
right for someone to jump onto the Glee-inspired
musical film bandwagon, so Universal Studios produced a note-by-note formula
piece in the vein of Bring It On and
was lucky enough to actually have some decent comedic talent to back it
up. It didn’t do anything special, but
it got the job done and filled a niche that was lacking in the blockbuster film
industry, so pop music fans flocked to the picture and fell in love. So, of course, a sequel was ordered and the
results are about as you would expect.
When making a sequel to such a straight formula piece and
keeping the same cast of characters, there are two ways to approach the new
plot: rehash the formula once more or focus on character development at the
expense of a central plot theme. The
second option is ultimately the better one, as it prevents the film from
feeling pointless in the shadow of its predecessor, and thankfully Pitch Perfect 2 decides to take this
route. Beca (Anna Kendrick) is interning
to try to become a successful music producer, Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) is trying
to juggle a secret romantic life with her acapella obligations, and the rest of
the singing group tries to come to terms with their impending college
graduation and inevitable splitting up as a competitive team. There is a world competition that looms as
the obligatory musical climax, but that mostly exists in the background and
only serves as an excuse for the ladies to keep singing.
And as for the singing itself, the performances become a
pretty decent metacommentary on the state of musical performance as a
competitive art. A common criticism of
the first film was that it exhibited an overreliance on choreography and
showmanship when the centerpiece was supposed to be the vocal
performances. The sequel takes those
critiques head on, turning the group’s collective arc into one of moving beyond
pure spectacle and coming together to find their true unifying voice,
abandoning the acapella staple of cover-based performance and realizing the
potential of original music. In a way,
this comes as a statement that this sequel wasn’t intended to be pure fan
service, but actually has a purposeful message about the real world state of
musical performance, and it’s a nice touch.
And, of course, as before, the comedic performances are
still pretty fun. Some characters are
still as one note as before (I’m thinking of the lesbian and nymphomaniac
caricatures), but Fat Amy’s one liners are still ridiculous as they are
awkward, and Beca’s inexplicable attraction to a domineering German competitor
is delightfully satisfying. As with the
first film, though, the prize must go to John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth
Banks as the competition announcers, who spew seemingly improvised commentary
with expert chemistry that only makes me wish that they were a larger focus in
the narrative.
All in all, fans of the franchise will love this film, and
while it still doesn’t reach any heights of transcendent greatness, Pitch Perfect 2 is a solid example of
how to move past pure formula in order to keep a sequel fresh and
interesting. I just wouldn’t expect it
to draft any new recruits to the cult of acapella.
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