The basic
premise is downright asinine; the structure is a mirror image of Pitch Perfect; the climactic final song
never believably sold me as a winning number; and yet, despite the many flaws
of Pitch Perfect 2, it is undeniably
entertaining. Even though the film feels directed at a specific demographic of
teenage girls (who make up a surprisingly large percentage of all cinema ticket
sales), I found myself easily won over by Pitch
Perfect 2 and its irreverent charm. More impressive was how little this
movie reminded me of the similarly toned television series, “Glee,” which far
outstayed its welcome.
The old crew that
made up the Barden Bellas is back again, forced to do damage control after an
unlikely accident involving a wardrobe malfunction during a performance in
front of President Obama. The only way to keep their singing group from being
disbanded is by winning the World Championships of A Cappella in Denmark
The old familiar
voices return in harmony, joined by newcomer and Barden Bellas legacy, Emily
(Hailee Steinfeld). Emily wants to follow in the footsteps of her mother (Katey
Sagal) by building close friendships with the singing group, though she also
has songwriting abilities often frowned upon in the world of a cappella. At the
same time that Emily is trying to find her place in the Bellas, many of the
other members are planning their lives after college, knowing that the World
Championships will likely be their last time to perform together. Preparing for
a career in music, Beca (Anna Kendrick) lands an internship at a recording
studio, given her first opportunity at producing while helping to work on a
Snoop Dogg Christmas album.
All of the other beloved oddball
characters from the first film are also back, even though most of them are more
personality quirks than actually developed roles for the actors. It is a cast
filled with comedic support, from the butch lesbian Cynthia (Ester Dean) to the
Lilly (Hanna Mae Lee), the soft-spoken weirdo. My first instincts were pity for
the character named Fat Amy, as well as the actor forced to take on the
self-deprecation required by the role, but Rebel Wilson has the rare gift of
making audiences laugh with her, not at her. Just in case the Bellas are not
stacked with enough quirky personas, the cast also sees a return of Adam DeVine
as Bumper, the campus safety officer, and traveling a cappella commentators
John and Gail (played by John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks).
As well as reprising her role as the
sexually frustrated commentator, Banks made Pitch
Perfect 2 her feature-film directorial debut (aside from an easily
forgettable section of Movie 43).
With four projects in the works, including a highly anticipated YA adaptation
and a remake of Charlie’s Angels,
Banks has used the financial and critical success of Pitch Perfect 2 to launch a new career behind the camera. This was
also enough of a success to warrant plans for a third installment into the Pitch Perfect franchise, no doubt
continuing the journey of the latest member of the Bellas.
Fans of the franchise will find more
reasons than usual to upgrade their purchase to Blu-ray, with plenty of
additional footage that includes more jokes and extended/deleted musical
performances from the Treblemakers, Das Sound Machine and the Green Bay
Packers. This is on top of the deleted/extended/alternate scenes that are
already included in both the DVD and Blu-ray release, with even more musical
performances and a gag reel. There are also a handful of featurettes and a
filmmaker commentary track, not to mention a digital HD copy of the film to go
with the DVD and Blu-ray.
Entertainment Value:
8.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 7/10
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