"Pitch Perfect"- A delightful comedic gem. Charming, warm and often laugh-out-loud funny!

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2016)

I'd have never thought that as a 28-year-old male who is decidedly a fan of all things horror and exploitation that one of my favorite films of the year 2012 in retrospect would have been "Pitch Perfect"- a hilarious musical comedy about an all-female A Cappella group that's full of spunk, light-hearted laughs and near-endless charm. But after having seen it for the first time earlier this week, I'm completely hooked. Much in the same way that films like "Mean Girls" and "Clueless" sort-of transcend their genres and become cultural phenomena that all can enjoy no matter age, gender or general movie preference, "Pitch Perfect" is definitely a movie for everyone.
We follow Beca Mitchell (Anna Kendrick), a freshman at Barden University, who dreams of moving out to California to start a musical career but is forced into attending college by her father- a professor at the school. When her father offers to let her live out her dreams should she join a school club and tough out the university for one year, she ends up joining the school's all-girl A Cappella group- the Barden Bellas, which is lead by the talented but domineering Aubrey Posen (Anna Camp). While they train to beat their school rivals- the Treblemakers, Beca tries to shake up the group and help them to become better singers and better friends with the help of the other new recruits. (Including the hilarious Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Hana Mae Lee, Kelley Alice Jakle, Shelley Regner and Wanetah Walmsley)
The key to the film's success really lays in its excellent casting and the sharp wit of the banter and dialog. As an ensemble, you couldn't ask for a better group of performers. Kendrick is a wonderful lead for us to follow, and she's very accessible and identifiable as a protagonist, with a great sense of humor and an adorable attitude. Supporting roles by the likes of Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow and the rest of the Bellas are just wonderful- particularly the highly entertaining Wilson who brings many of the belly-laughs with her great improvisations. Skylar Astin makes for a good love-interest in Jesse, a young man who becomes quickly infatuated with Beca. And smaller roles like Adam DeVine as the slimy leader of the Bella's rivals and producer Elizabeth Banks as a very tripped out commentator are also quite good.
Jason Moore directs from a script by former "30 Rock" writer and producer Kay Cannon. Loosely inspired by a non-fiction book of the same name, Cannon and Moore create a unique and highly entertaining world and aesthetic for the Bellas to inhabit, and they inject a lot of great fun and thoughtful character development for each and every performer. As she has shown on her previous television work, Cannon has a way with her writing to craft fine and highly comedic yet also fundamentally touching story lines and she shines once again. Moore has a very confident sense of visual storytelling and he also knows when to let his cast improvise and inject their own ideas into the mold, and it helps to build the film up to what it is- exquisite entertainment.
Add to that a host of wonderful song choices, extremely well- executed musical sequences involving the groups performing at various competitions, plenty of great subversive laughs and some unexpectedly shocking gags that take you by surprise and you just have a good, solid little flick. If I absolutely had to complain about anything, it would be the very minor issues I had with some of the more clichéd moments that crop up now and again. While I won't spoil them, I will say that anyone with even a passing knowledge of film theory and structure will probably see the majority of the twists, turns and developments coming from a mile away. But given that the film is more focused on just absolutely charming its audience and delivering consistent laughs, I can forgive this. It's a minor issue in an otherwise near-flawless film.
"Pitch Perfect" is just such a pleasant surprise. With wonderful characters being portrayed by fantastic performers, a witty script filled with great humor and solid visual direction, the film is a just pure, simple fun. And I give it a near-perfect 9 out of 10. If you haven't seen it, be sure to give it a shot. And ignore the many nay-sayers you see popping up here and there... they just don't know how to let themselves have fun.