Campus Cliché

Rating: 7/10 (18 May 2015)

Anna Kendrick plays Beca, a supposedly edgy girl who is forced to attend college by her professor father. He's as cool as a film aimed at teens will allow him to be (see Harry Dean Stanton in "Pretty in Pink"). More than anything, I think "Pitch Perfect" wants to be a John Hughes film, but there are numerous similarities to other films (like the cheer films). Beca wants to be a producer of music, but she find herself a member of the Bellas, an all girl a cappella singing group dedicated to conservative dress and tame renditions. Beca plays the adventurous girl cliché we have seen in many other films. She is the welder who bring flashdance to the ballet world. She is the white girl who brings hip hop to the ballet world. She is Baby, bringing dirty dancing to the stodgy world of the middle-upper class vacation resort. What revelation does Beca bring to the glee world? The layering of songs. Earth-shaking.
Beca has a rather uninspired romance with a guy who sings for another a cappella group, The Treblemakers. He, unlike her, is a movie fan and he recommends she watch "The Breakfast Club" (by John Hughes). After finally watching the film, she suggests that the Bellas reveal secrets about themselves, but nothing is really revealed.
There also is the clichéd fat girl, named Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), who is sexually aggressive and loud--surprise!
"Pitch Perfect" is a Glee-ful tribute whose best attributes are the music and the voices that sing the music. They make the film worth listening to.
Also worth watching are Adam Devine as Bumper ("Modern Family) and Brittany Snow as Chloe. Too bad the script was not strong enough to support the other talented actors in the film.