Pitch Perfect

Let me tell you a little story. 

Angry girl goes to college because her dad makes her.
Angry girl just wants to be a DJ in LA.
Dad tells her to join club in college.
Angry girl joins club.
Said club is essentially shattered from an event from last year.
Club is trying to rebuild themselves to return to Nationals.
Angry girl is just what club needs.
Angry girl finally joins club. 

So what happens next you might ask? 

Well, since I consider my readers to be of higher intelligence than most, I'm sure you can see where this movie is already going and I'm sure you've already seen a dozen movies with a very similar outcast-making-friends-in-unlikely-places storyline.

So then the question that begs to be answered is: why did I enjoy Pitch Perfect so damn much?

Now, I bet you're thinking that this movie is probably a lot like the TV show, Glee. I guess you could say that it's a lot like Glee if Glee was edgier, a little more grounded in reality, and didn't have a ridiculously large gay agenda to adhere to...so no, it's not really like Glee at all except for the fact that they both have singing. And honestly, Pitch Perfect has a lot more exciting singing than I have seen on Glee in a LONG time. 

I never have gotten over my crush on Brittany Snow...
there are just too many Hollywood starlets and not enough of
me to give to all of them :-(

The commentators have some of the funniest
lines in the entire movie. Priceless.

But this is not a Glee review, this is a Pitch Perfect review, and boy was it a fun movie. Did I thoroughly enjoy it? No, there are certainly sometimes where its cliche-ity (new word -- I just made it up) shines through and it becomes rather boring. But I'll be damned if it wasn't side-splittingly funny at times and if I wasn't completely mesmerized by most of the musical performances. Whereas I gave Step Up Revolution an 8.5/10 for just the sheer awesomeness of the dancing alone (because the story and acting was laughable) , Pitch Perfect merits itself with some great performances, hilarious lines, and some really good singing. I don't want to ruin the comedy too much but just realize that anytime a movie has a character that calls herself Fat Amy (played brilliantly by Aussie actress, Rebel Wilson), you know that the filmmakers have at least some sense of humor. 

Guy: "I have a feeling we should kiss right now..."
Fat Amy: "Mmm...I sometimes have a feeling that I could
do crystal meth but then I think: 'mmmm better not.'"
Best. Turndown. Ever.

In addition to the comedic prowess of the film, as I mentioned earlier, the musical performances are also top notch. All of the music is created entirely A Capella (i.e. the beats, background instrumentation, etc.) and often it consists of modern day music. Hell, even the performance that has older songs is really good. Near the end, when the uber-cute Anna Kendrick, who plays "Angry Girl" Beca, starts singing her own DJ mashups, things get really interesting. Remember when I gave a brief discussion about chills in my Step Up Revolution review? I certainly had some during a couple times in this movie, particularly near the end. 

Anna Kendrick (front and center)...not sure she could get any cuter

Pitch Perfect is a story that has been told time and time again. It's been told about cheerleading, dancing, singing, sports, and probably even about planking or something crazy like that knowing Hollywood's general lack of ideas these days. But despite that common ground, Pitch Perfect provides us with something new: a movie that not only tells this story, but a movie that tells this story and doesn't completely suck. It's funny, it's got some great performances in it, and it's got a bunch of hot girls in it. What more could you ask for? It's just A Ca-awesome (trust me, you'll get it if you see the movie)!

Oh...but if you are queasy with vomit...yeah...don't go. 

Pros:

• Really really funny most of the time. The announcers and Fat Amy completely steal the show
• So many good looking women, it's just not fair
• Great performances that are fresh, interesting, and surprisingly well choreographed
• The story may be familiar, but Pitch Perfect makes you actually care for the character outcomes 

Cons:

• There are some sections of the movie that are too cliched and nothing really seems to be happening. The movie loses a lot of steam in these parts, but luckily they are nowhere near the end
• Pitch Perfect overstays its welcome a bit at nearly 2 hours long. And based off the last bullet point, I know exactly where they could have cut out scenes

Rath's Review Score: 8/10