Pitch Perfect 2- Film Review

Most people don’t expect major plot points in a movie like Pitch Perfect 2. They do however expect it to be the perfect choice for a few hours of laughter. Unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to its hype and will leave some moviegoers wondering why they even made another one.

The Barden Bellas are now seniors and enjoying their success as a top a capella troupe after winning three straight national champions. An unfortunate accident occurs during their victory tour at their Kennedy Center performance – Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) is hanging from a ceiling and her pants begin to slowly rip. The audience, which includes President Obama is unintentionally mooned. The audience and a capella officials John (John Michael Higgins) and Gail (Elizabeth Banks) go frantic as she dangles and is slowly turned around exposing her front bits. The school strips the Bellas of their status; they can’t compete or recruit new members. They can only redeem themselves if they win the international a cappella competition, which no American team has. Their main rival is German group, Das Sound Machine

Beca (Anna Kendrick) takes an internship at a record label without telling her teammates. She’s concerned that they’ll be upset because they’re concentrating on winning the international competition while she’s concentrating on her future. Once they do find out, her concerns aren’t real after all. The drama only exists in her head revealing a time wasting plot point with no climax.

With most of the Bellas being seniors there seems to be no chance of a Pitch Perfect 3 until – enter Emily Junk (Hailee Steinfeld) who has always wanted to be a Bella because her mom Katherine (Katey Sagal) was one. She goes to the Bellas campus home after they weren’t at auditions. They never explain to her that they’re not allowed to audition. She came to them so they figure they can add her to the group because they didn’t technically recruit.

The non-white characters exist only as caricatures for awkward moments and racist jokes that are forced and lazy. Most jokes are only added for shock value and said by John during his podcast. For instance, during a performance John says that Flo (Chrissie Fit) should “backflip right over the fence into Mexico.” Can we please forward time to where writers stop making these weak and lazy jokes? No, you’re not progressive in your imaginative post-racial world. In fact, you define why it’s not post-racial with your lack of effort. Flo’s character makes some of her own off-colored jokes but they’re in opposition of first world complaints so they have some sort of substance but those are rare.

Some of the music scenes are enjoyable. Fat Amy brings the laughs with her self-deprecating and one-liners along with her romance with Bumper (Adam DeVine). However, none of this is enough to keep the movie from feeling long and drawn out. It’s just not the same as when you were cheering for them as underdogs in the first movie. It feels forced as most sequels are to get money from their target audience before they grow up and move on.

Starring: Anna Kendrick (Beca), Rebel Wilson (Fat Amy), Hailee Steinfeld (Emily)

Directed by: Elizabeth Banks

Written by: Kay Cannon, Mickey Rapkin

MPAA rating: PG-13

Running time: 115 min

Rating: 3/5