Refreshing and entertaining "musical" comedy

Rating: 9/10 (17 February 2013)

PITCH PERFECT (2012) is a surprisingly clever comedy about, of all things, the world of collegiate acapella groups! I guess Hollywood has covered virtually every competitive arena out there, so this one might as well join the ranks. Starring up-and-comer Anna Kendrick (already an Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actress for "Up in the Air" and also one of the co-stars in those insanely popular "Twilight" movies), Kendrick takes on the lead role this time and does an excellent job carrying this flick. Kendrick has great comic timing and manages to lift the sometimes predictable, yet generally witty, script to another level.
Kendrick is by no means the only plus of this film, though! The supporting cast is wonderful . Skylar Astin (Jesse), Brittany Snow (Chloe), Anna Camp (Aubrey), Alexis Knapp (Stacie), Ben Platt (Benji), Ester Dean (Cynthia Rose), Hana Mae Lee (Lilly), Adam DeVine (Bumper), and ESPECIALLY scene-stealer Rebel Wilson (Fat Amy) all deliver the goods and they really help make this movie from degenerating into a cliché vehicle, all really bringing their characters to life. Wilson in particular as Fat Amy had me in stitches for the entire film! Although the main plot has been done a million times(rebellious outsider must overcome obstacles and personal issues to fit in and bond in a new environment and lead group of acapella misfits into a final showdown against the abrasive, cocky acapella group), I found myself enjoying the journey of these group of ladies thanks to (1) a refreshingly funny script (2) a collection of great songs and mash-ups and (3) the sweet, believable love story of Beca and Jesse.
The plot centers around the Barden University "Bellas", an all-female acapella group that was embarrassed at the prior year's nationals (film's opening scene). The Bellas are eternal lapdogs to the Barden "Treblemakers", a group of uber-talented aca-nerds who won the championship. The Bellas leader is the extremely uptight and frigid Aubrey (Camp), who along with the more friendly and effervescent Chloe (Snow), must recruit a whole new squad since the rest either graduated or quit after the nationals embarrassment. As the Bellas leaders, Snow and Camp have a wonderful, mature "Mean Girls" rapport with each other.
The potential aca-recruits (for the Bellas, Trebles, and two other campus acapella groups) must sing "Since You've Been Gone" in a hilarious audition scene. Among the new Bellas are the rebellious Beca (Kendrick), the loopy and caustic Fat Amy (Wilson), slutty Stacie (Knapp), the uber-quiet Lilly (Lee), and powerhouse singer Cynthia Rose (Dean). Special mention should go to "other 3" Bellas Jessica (played by Kelley Jakle), Denise (played by Wanetah Walmsley), and Ashley (played by Shelley Regner), as they, along with Lilly, do a lot of the non-verbal sounds required of an acapella group to mimic musical instruments.
Jesse (played with utter charm and sublime confidence by Astin) gets recruited by the Treblemakers, of course, and a "taboo" romance (Bellas and Trebles don't mix!) between he and Beca forms during the course of the school year. I really enjoyed the sweet Beca-Jesse pairing. It was a refreshing change-of-pace as they bonded through their love of music (Jessie wants to be a film scorer and Beca a DJ) and actually had an "old-fashioned" courtship, on a college campus no less where sex is probably rampant! Kendrick and Astin had a natural underplayed chemistry that flows, giving the film it's heart.
What's stunning about this movie is that virtually all of the main cast are not professional singers or dancers, yet you couldn't tell by watching the film! Whatever training they had to endure in the making of the movie, EVERY actor actually translates to the screen as having musical and dance talent. While it's obvious that Astin and Dean are natural and experienced singers, stunningly, actors like Kendrick, Snow, and Wilson held their own and really sounded great, as well.
My favorite scenes included the aforementioned audition scene, the "riff-off" scene where different acapella groups strung off a sequence of diverse songs, the "Just the Way You Are/Just a Dream" mash-up scene, the "Party in the USA" bus scene, the Trebles nationals performance, and the climactic "payoff" scene of the Bellas final routine at nationals, an energetic, sexy, uplifting performance of mashed-up songs, with one particular song that symbolizes the Beca-Jesse relationship.
Although the musical performances are great, I actually think Pitch Perfect excels in the comedy department as well, and I wouldn't enjoy this film nearly as much if it weren't so funny. Amazingly, I think the film manages to avoid a lot of clichés that one would expect, and even though the climax is predictable, it's the getting there that surprised me. Examples are: (1) the "nerds" of the movie, the Trebles, were pretty proud of their nerdiness and actually make fun of the "cool" types and didn't get bullied as one would expect in such a movie, (2) the Bellas were accepting of each other's uniqueness; there was tension, but mostly due to the pressure of competition; they all actually LIKED each other; there was no "evil" versus "good"; Aubrey and Beca had believable conflict with each other; Aubrey was controlling and stern, but not in a mean-spirited way; she was under immense pressure and felt threatened by Beca, while Beca was nonconformist and cool, but too much of a loner; there were shades of gray, and (3) in the end, it wasn't about Bellas versus Trebles or winning, but about compromise, teamwork, friendship, and love.
I know it's cliché, but comedy ain't easy! Director Jason Moore does an excellent job with this musical-comic keeper!