Pitch Perfect 2

Let me start off by saying that I can see the appeal of Pitch Perfect.  I'm not a fan, but I can understand why others would be.  The movies are light, fluffy entertainment, and to be perfectly honest, some of the musical numbers contained within are a lot of fun.

With that said, may I ask a simple question?  Why does Pitch Perfect 2 have to be so inconsequential?  Just because the movie is fluff doesn't mean the movie has to have no real plot.  And what are we to make of these characters, who are so dull that it's hard to get invested in them whenever they're not on the stage performing?  Nobody in this movie is allowed to have a personality, outside of a basic character trait (i.e. One's fat, one's a lesbian, one's shy and mousey, etc.).  The women who make up the acapella choir at the center of the film are played by the likes of Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow and Hailee Steinfeld.  These are great actors who should stand out in a comedy like this.  Instead, they barely register, and we never get a sense of their relationship with each other.  I understand that in a movie like this, the plot is second to the musical numbers.  But here, the movie has almost forgotten anything resembling a plot, and seems to be casting around for filler material.

As we rejoin the "Bellas" musical group, they are riding high off of their win at the end of the first film, and have been invited to perform at the Kennedy Center for the President's birthday, where we see awkwardly placed stock footage of Barack and Michelle Obama watching a performance of some kind spliced in with the footage of the Bellas singing.  A wardrobe malfunction happens on stage to "Fat Amy" (Rebel Wilson), and the ensuing media hype over the failed performance causes the Bellas to be dropped from their tour, and to be replaced with a sleek and professional acapella choir from Germany.  The only way the Bellas can win back the respect they've lost is to beat the German group (and a bunch of other competing countries that don't matter to the plot) at a world singing competition.

That might make it sound like Pitch Perfect 2 is an underdog story, but in reality, the Bellas don't seem to be all that concerned about winning, since we never really see them rehearse or practice together.  Instead, the movie fills itself with frivolous subplots, such as Beca (Anna Kendrick) taking an intern job at a recording studio, and being afraid to tell the other girls about it, as she's afraid they'll think she's not part of the group anymore.  Strange thing is, the movie seemed as uninterested in this plot as I was.  It does not allow Beca to develop a personality outside of the music group, as you would think, and it seems to exist solely to give rapper Snoop Dogg a cameo, only to have the screenplay forget to give him anything to do or say.  Speaking of cameos, David Cross turns up as an acapella fan who holds music battles in his massive basement, and even select members of the Green Bay Packers turn up as a singing group in a competition. 

This is a largely formless movie that doesn't seem to know what to do with itself when the girls are not on stage, or competing.  The script keeps on trying to find ways to cut to a musical number, even if it has nothing to do with the plot.  Early in the film, while the Bellas find out they've lost their tour, the movie randomly cuts to Freshman orientation, so we can see another musical group perform for the students, only to cut back to the Bellas as soon as the number is over.  It doesn't help that the returning stars seem somewhat bored here, especially Kendrick, who can hardly suppress the fact that she's only back for the paycheck.  Of the main girls, Rebel Wilson seems to get the most screen time, since her Fat Amy character was a big hit with fans of the first.  But again, the movie gives her little to do but spout off random one liners, and perform pratfalls where she tumbles down the stairs.

In a year that's sadly been filled with a large number of unnecessary and sloppy sequels, Pitch Perfect 2 is far from the worst of the lot, but it proved to be a big disappointment to me.  Sure, the first movie didn't win me over, but I was willing to give this one a chance, and was ready for a good time.  I smiled during some of the musical numbers, but that was about the extent of my enjoyment.

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