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The best female-driven comedy movie to hit theaters since “Bridesmaids” has now arrived.
After a heavy social marketing regime, “Pitch Perfect” hit theaters a week early in some cities, living up to its expectation as one of the funniest films of the fall.
Beca, played by Anna Kendrick (“Up in the Air”, “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”), is a rebellious aspiring DJ forced into college by her English teacher father, whose job offers her free tuition.
After a month of solitude and interning at the student radio station, her father confronts her about finding a job and making friends by the end of the year, and if she can’t, he’ll help her move out to L.A. to live her DJ-ing dreams.
She then joins The Bellas, Barden University’s all-girl acapella group whose embarrassing stint at the previous year’s national acapella competition shoved them to the bottom of the social ladder.
Their reputation as a group of attractive, talented women transitions into a reputation of a group of almost-as-talented, not-as-attractive women.
With a plethora of songs from last century, The Bellas constantly bore the crowd. Beca makes it her mission to remix their act and their image.
The band of misfits fight to grow as a team and take on their rivals — The Treble-makers — but most importantly to rebuild their reputation.
The strong supporting actors stole the show. “Bridesmaid”’s Rebel Wilson, portraying “Fat Amy,” brought the majority of the funny as the overly confident freshman from Tasmania.
The other girls brought their own unique twist to college stereotypes.
I was most disappointed with Academy Award nominee Anna Kendrick’s lackluster performance.
While her singing was great, I found it difficult to care about her character. If I hadn’t been rooting for the other girls in the group, the film might have fallen a little bit short in terms of character development. While the story developed well, her acting did not really do it any favors.
There’s an unwritten rule in comedy called “crossing the line.”
The comedian or writer draws a line in the sand with a joke, and it’s up to him or her to cross it and take a joke from funny to hilarious.
“Pitch Perfect” took full advantage of this idea and pushed the limits just far enough to leave audiences with laughter-induced stomach pains. I’m sure I missed several jokes due to uncontrollable laughter, but it didn’t take away from the story. It just gave me an excuse to see the film again.
This film isn’t just about the comedy, though. The musical performances were stellar. If you like “Glee,” you’ll really enjoy these performances. If you don’t like “Glee,” don’t worry. They don’t ever just break out into songs about their love lives, and you’ll still appreciate the talent.
As the credits began, my friends and I found it difficult not to give the actors a standing ovation.
I’d have to say that “Pitch Perfect” was aca-awesome and that everyone should go see it as soon as possible.
