Chick-flick that will either annoy or amuse you.

Rating: 5/10 (6 March 2015)

Since I didn't like this movie very much, I'll give it a less biased overview first, then talk about what I personally disliked in it in the back half. This is a very strong chick-flick comedy. I haven't seen very many movies like this since it's not really my scene, but I suppose the producers did a decent job with the movie. They included some rising stars that will probably be remembered for this movie. The film is memorable with lots of things to replicate and quote such as the aca- prefix and the cup beat. So in that regard, the filmmakers did their job well.
Even though I didn't appreciate the comedy, I suppose it was well scripted and acted with decent proficiency. The characters, though, were a bit more of a problem. It seemed to me like most of them were poorly written. Almost every character either acts like a jerk or is put in a position where they are laughed at because of being a certain stereotype or whatever (e.g. Cynthia Rose being lesbian, Benji's nerdy magic acts). They are, however, redeemed by having very distinct personalities. The only characters that I feel are exceptions to the previous statement are Fat Amy and Chloe. Fat Amy is able to generate humor without being mean or picked. This holds true for Chloe as well, though her character has below average depth and personality. However, Chloe is rather pivotal in the eventual transformation of the Bella group. I'll touch lightly on the other three main characters/groups of the movie, being Aubry, Beca, and the Trebles. Aubry is basically an antagonist for most of the movie, and is pretty hateable, and potentially annoying, but her obstinacy in retaining the Bellas' tradition was insufficiently explained. Beca has a detectable personality, but her character has relatively little depth, and she's rather unlikable and too easily irritated as main characters go. This especially detracts from her character since she basically becomes leader of the Bellas toward the end and hasn't really connected with the other girls in the group, though she has gained their respect and sympathy. Lastly, the rival Treble Makers are the main villains and have three key characters of Bumper, Donald, and Jesse. Jesse becomes kind of a protagonist and is more likable than the other Trebles since he tries to ingratiate himself with Beca. Bumper is a character that you can hate without trying, which is good since he's a villain. Donald, which is the Treble with glasses and a lot of screen time, fits the cinematic a Capella guy mold of dorky and annoying, which is established early in the movie.
The storyline is set up like a sports movie, and this is mostly accounted for by the various a Capella competitions throughout. It's fairly predictable, like lots of sports films though this is fictional and comedic of course, and there aren't any surprise ending style elements. The humor seems to be fairly mainstream female comedy, though my knowledge in that field is limited so don't take that as fact. There's a fair amount of sexual jokes and such in it, accounting for the PG-13 rating. There are also a number of running gags that mostly pertain to the characters (e.g. Aubry's vomiting at the beginning of the film). Beca's being promoted to leader of the Bellas near the end was kind of corny and inconsistent with Aubry's character, but they made the scene into a joke so that kind of made up for it.
That's about it for the unbiased portion of the review. I'll try to keep my opinions fairly brief in this back half. This movie did not really fit my personality. I wouldn't have chosen to see it and definitely wouldn't have chosen to sit through it. The only reason I did either is because I felt like I owed my brother for having him go to Battle of Five Armies, and he said I could pay him back by sitting through this. As I said before, I felt like the characters were all either picked on or were jerks throughout. The comedy wasn't really that palatable to me, so that caused me to have more of a problem with the smaller issues of the movie throughout. I can understand why other people enjoy it, but it just doesn't have the same affect on me. Most of the characters were really annoying, especially when they involved the Trebles, the two competition announcers, or the aca- prefix. I was considering having "Pretty aca-nnoying" as part of my headline, but there are enough of those already, so there's no point. In short, nothing from the first installment makes me want to go and see the sequel that's coming out in a month or so.
You can watch this under almost any number of circumstances. It's fine to see it on your own. You can watch clips of it and enjoy each individual scene. It's good to watch with a bunch of friends since there's not really any big plot points that will be missed if you don't catch a few lines. So while, I hated this movie, I suppose it's worth a shot for anyone looking for a decently executed comedy. Overall Rating: 4.2/10.