An Aca-Awesome Sequel, Though Lacking in Some Areas

Rating: 8/10 (15 May 2015)

Hey there it's Robbie K, back with another movie review to help you get some insight into the latest movies. Today I throw my hat into the ring of the latest singing movie Pitch Perfect 2, a sequel that has been most anticipated for quite some time. With it's predecessor becoming an instant "classic" in the A capella world, going so far to inspire singing competitions, surely this sequel had some potential to rock the ear drum world. From the trailers, here is what you might expect:
1. Comedy 2. Toe Tapping Tunes 3. A cute story
However, in the world of sequels you never know what will come out of the woodwork, so here is what you get:
1. Comedy In terms of Comedy, Pitch Perfect 2's greatest strength is the ability to make you laugh. The trailer showing Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) showing off her lower anatomy is only the tip of the iceberg in this installment. You will be bombarded with one liners that are sure to be the next T-shirt or picture meme, including that famous use of Aca into vocabulary. The writers spared no expense to cram this movie with ridiculous quotes, often having our Barden Bellas go to extraordinary lengths to deliver their lines. What was the result? Most of the audience was rolling on the floor laughing, some even to tears at the comedy at hand. Wilson in particular takes the cake for the most laughs, using her weight and her blunt way of speaking to land well-timed, hilarious, dialogue. Even the slapstick comedy involving the setting is fun, especially when you see the responses of the other girls at what occurred. But perhaps the third factor that made the comedy so fun, was integrating some of the jokes into singing. Whether it was Fat Amy performing an act, or someone screwing up a lyric, Pitch Perfect 2 adds some quality comedy in their song numbers to give us a small break from the other comedy. But for all the good of the comedy, there are some limitations. For one thing they did too much of a good thing in the jokes, and for this reviewer some of the one-liners got stale. I mean how many weight jokes or sex references do we need in a two hour time frame? The second mistake was not balancing the comedy between the Bellas. Oh sure each of them got at least one line into the phrase, but this sequel focused heavily on Fat Amy and left some of the others in the dust. I always used to enjoy Becca's sarcasm as a joke, but even that got drowned by the simple slapstick of this movie. Finally the writers went a little too far with their racial/sexist jokes in both intensity and number. Some of the jokes are more insulting than funny, and the constant bashing throughout the movie had me shaking my heads and praying that no protests or boycotts would come underway.
2. Songs:
So if you saw the first movie, you know that covers are the other life force of this series. Pitch Perfect 2 does a great job bringing their versions of popular songs into the mix, and making you want to sing and dance the night away. Songs are mashed together in a recipe of success that covered all genres, somehow being spun in a direction that made me like a Taylor Swift song. They even did a better job integrating our girls into the mix, helping to expand the track horizon. Best of all, I didn't have to hear I Saw The Sign performed ten times in one movie, which was perhaps the most annoying part of Pitch Perfect 1. Throw in the filler songs that helped transition the scenes, and you have one soundtrack I'll be looking to buy down the line. However the music still pales compared to its predecessor. Despite Pitch Perfect 2 having some really good tunes, the numbers still weren't as impressive as I had hoped. The final battle in particular was rather lackluster and simple, though the Bellas number did rock, and I found myself bored with the performances of the other groups.
3. Story
We all know this movie isn't about the story, but take a look back at what we had in the first movie. Pitch Perfect brought college life to the screen, helping introduce a new world for Becca that included getting involved, music, friends, and love. It was simple and predictable, but done well that tied the other aspects together. Not the case in Pitch Perfect 2. This sequel sacrificed a lot of plot for extra laughs, essentially shredding the foundation to which I enjoyed in the first. Sure there was the establishment of a rival team to help spur the plot, and there was even a moral filled tale of embracing change. Heck there were even a few cutesy love stories thrown into the mix. But this movie really diluted their character development down into a rather basic mashup of half baked plot lines. I didn't feel quite as attached to the characters, my mind only wondering what the next stunt or joke would be.
So from my skewed review what can we take away? Pitch Perfect 2 is a really fun and enjoyable sequel that is sure to entertain a majority of the world. The comedy heavy theme and dialogue is going to make you laugh, and the soundtrack will have you tapping your toes away. Despite the lack of balance and weaker story, I have to recommend you go and see this film in theaters (like you actually wouldn't).
My scores overall are:
Comedy/Music: 8.0 Movie Overall: 8.0