Nothing to sing about.

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2015)

I'd like to think I give each movie a fair shot. I don't pay for a movie ticket to exercise some vindictive buzz against the Hollywood industry. Although, I've certainly been the victim of over-hype, but who hasn't? So, perhaps the better approach is to go to the theatre with indifference, a shroud of mystery that blinds any destructively high expectations and conceals any plaguing doubts. I was fortunate to have no such trouble while watching Pitch Perfect 2, expecting nothing more than a functional story that adds something to the first film. So what could go wrong? Well, I suppose the 4/10 speaks for itself doesn't it?
Pitch Perfect 2 continues the hijinks of the Barden Bellas, a motley crew of acapella singers, roughly where the first film left off, on their aca-train to aca-success (And trust me, you don't have to see either movies to know how obnoxious that prefix can get). The sequel presents an interesting challenge for the Bellas: an international competition, which is exactly what I mean by adding 'something' to the first; taking things one step further, thus validating the continuation of the series. What's odd though is that as done to death as this plot line is, in a film series high on using every convenient plot device in the book, even that never reaches any development. 'Das Sound Machine', the Bella's foremost international opponents, the obvious antagonists, make it clear that they will be squaring off against them in the competition, yet after the first half of the movie, they never reappear. This group represents perfectionist harmonics that outdo the rest of the competition, yet this challenge never returns for the third act to test the Bellas' crumbling dynamic, the central 'conflict' of the film.
This is the first of several dead-end plot lines, either contributing little to the central storyline or going absolutely nowhere. Benji and Emily's romance, for example, takes four conflict-less scenes before they spontaneously decide they're head over heels for each other. How about Beca's new job? A possible detour from the Bellas and thus a compromise of time. That could be worth checking into, but no, she's actually pretty organized with her time and the ordeal has no lasting impact on her whatsoever. How about Fat Amy's romance with Bumper? Ummm, okay. I guess that could be interesting, if only it lasted more than three consequence-less scenes. Perhaps Emily's mom can bring some drama to the table. She is, after all, very intent on Emily being a Bella, which could lead to some crushing pressure on Emily's performance - you know what I'm going to say
The point is, this film has so many points, that ironically, it has no point at all. The film forgets to add any real drama to the mix and, to make a music analogy, it's like an entire choir competing for the same money note, resulting in a loud, unharmonious mess. I'm not going to say the first film was anything special, but at least it had a sense of what to focus on. This one jumbles so many undeveloped stories that it's hard to decide which one to care the least about.
It's like when you have a cool idea, but forget to write it down and then it fades away into your subconscious. That's really the best way to describe this movie, as a missed opportunity for something at least mediocrely entertaining. I'll admit a few moments got a chuckle, but really for no other reason than "Oh hey, it's that joke they used in the first movie, only somehow more insensitive. What fun!" For a franchise that seems so nostalgic for The Breakfast Club, it would have been nice to see the film take to heart how John Hughes took stereotypes and shaped them into three-dimensional characters, rather than racy punchlines. If you go to this movie for the cheap laughs and the soundtrack, you won't be disappointed, but if you're expecting any development in story or character, I'd suggest waiting till it comes to aca-Netflix.
Here's hoping I never have to use that prefix again.