Pitch Perfect Hits Almost All the Right Notes
LatestI don’t know what kind of movie you’re hoping to see if you go to Pitch Perfect, the Anna Kendrick-starring comedy about college a cappella tournaments, but I can almost guarantee that it won’t be what you expect. At least it wasn’t for me. I went into the theater thinking I was about to take in a cross between Glee and the Step Up movies — not that I would have minded if that were the case. I unapologetically like both of those things, but I like them in a dorky, so-bad-that-they’re-good way. And that’s exactly why I wanted to see see Pitch Perfect to begin with. I was hoping for a messy, feel good movie that ideally had some amazing a cappella arrangements (I am also an unapologetic fan of a capella — harmonize on that, haters), so imagine my surprise when what I ended up getting was a self-aware, edgy comedy (more in the vein of Bring It On than Save the Last Dance) that still had amazing a cappella arrangements?
My first clue that Pitch Perfect wasn’t going to be the cheese fest I had been expecting should have been that the film’s screenwriter, Kay Cannon, has been a writer and co-producer on 30 Rock since the show’s inception. And then, to double down on the funny lady cred, it had Elizabeth Banks acting as Executive Producer. Their presence shows because, at its best, Pitch Perfect is a movie about girl weirdos doing what they love. It might not seem like much, but there’s something to be said for portraying young college-aged women who are real misfits. College girls have been portrayed as selfish bitches, dream girlfriends and (maybe) lazy stoners, but it’s rare that they’re portrayed as self-assured, Revenge of the Nerds-style freaks.
Pitch Perfect does occasionally fall flat. While Rebel Wilson and a few other of her castmates might be representative of a more than welcome other, the three leads of The Bellas are fairly conventional. We’re supposed to believe that beautiful Anna Kendrick, who plays the moody newcomer Beca, is an outcast because she wears a lot of eyeliner and — gasp — is a DJ. Brittany Snow is considered strange because she’s comfortable being naked and True Blood‘s Anna Camp’s main flaw is that she’s uptight. All three women give more than capable performances, but I found myself feeling sorry for them. All of the other girls — the girls who get to be actively different — looked like they were having so much fun, while Kendrick, Snow and Camp were saddled with carrying the drama of love stories and group resentments.