Amusing but Far from Perfect

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2013)

The musical comedy "Pitch Perfect" qualifies as an entertaining but uneven comedy. Freshman director Jason Moore and scenarist Kay Cannon have adapted Mickey Rapkin's book about a behind-the-scenes world of competitive collegiate a cappella. Although it boasts an attractive cast with sympathetic, multi-cultural underdog characters galore and a genuine bitch villainess, this PG-13 laffer about an all girl college a cappella group and their antics struggles to be sincere and silly at the same time. Primarily, "Pitch Perfect" is silly. The Barden Bellas are a hard-luck gal group who enter vocal competitions but suffer because they sing old-fashioned songs. Worse, one of their founding members has brought them no end of bad publicity because she projectile vomited into the crowd during a competition. This is part of the problem with "Pitch Perfect." What turns out to be an ostensibly pleasant, engaging comedy is marred by some boorish humor. The projectile vomiting is hilarious in an outrageous sort of way, but it doesn't blend well with our protagonist's antics with her girl group or a fellow radio station intern. Some of the sight gags are funny, like Baloney Barbara. The other problem is the lackluster romance between beautiful Anna Kendrick and a woefully miscast but nice Skylar Austin. They don't generate any sparks. The musical selections and the vocals are terrific, and "Pitch Perfect" looks polished in every area.
The heroine, Beca (Anna Kendrick of "Twilight"), tolerates attending class at an all girl's college. She would rather be in sunny California in the music production business, honing her skills and paying her dues as a disc jockey. Beca's annoying father, Dr. Mitchell (John Hickey of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"), who teaches Comparative Literature, convinces his daughter to give college a try. If she doesn't like college, Mitchell promises to foot the bill for her to go to the West Coast. During move-in day, Beca encounters a warbling fellow in a car, Jesse (Skylar Austin of "Hamlet 2"), and it is love at first sight for him. Later, after she has moved in with a weird Asian roommate who wants nothing to do with her, Beca heads off to the shower. Earlier, she had conversed with Chloe (Brittany Snow of "Hairspray") and Aubrey (Anna Camp of "The Help") about joining the Bellas, but she assured them that she couldn't sing. Chloe hears Beca in the shower, confronts her, and persuades her to join their group. Along the way, Beca stumbles over Jesse who has joined the prestigious Treblemakers, a collegiate a cappella group, and they start seeing each other. Jesse turns Beca into a movie lover.
This entertaining romp has some good scenes and some not-so-good scenes.