By Kelli Londono/entertainment editor
Photo courtesy Universal Pictures
The new film Pitch Perfect brings laughter in the realm of show choirs and the outrageous stereotypes that come along with the title of a cappella.
Though laugh-out-loud funny, the musical comedy does little with story sequences and struggles to escape the clichéd teen film.
The film revolves around Beca (Anna Kendrick) as she unwillingly enters college. Her real dream is to move to Los Angeles to start a disc jockey career. She soon meets the leaders of the Barden Bellas, an all-girl a cappella group and laughing stock of the a cappella community after a screw-up in the previous year’s collegiate finals. Although she would rather make music with a computer than her voice, she joins the Bellas and tries to take the group to the top while battling the group’s archrivals, the all-male Treblemakers.
Watching the film, it seems almost like Glee has come to the big screen. With the same choir stereotypes and catchy covers of popular hits from the radio, the only difference is these good-looking kids are in college, which means more adult humor.
The intended humor of the movie is actually funny. Many of the jokes revolve around performing in a group and being in the choir/a cappella community, which could go one of two ways. Either it can be funny for all or it is only funny to those who have been in the choir community for more than 10 years. Fortunately, one does not need to be a choir-holic to get a good laugh. And up-and-coming comedian-actress Rebel Wilson steals the show.
What does not shine a bright light on the film are the details of the plot. Throughout the film are details so minute it seems longer scenes were cut with little snippets left to watch. These left-behind puzzle pieces hold back the film and take up the audience’s time.
The film is also in the clichéd teen-film genre, which could be its only downfall. An alternative girl has problems making friends and tries not to fall in love with the quirky boy. They all have a blast singing with their friends and, of course, look good doing it. And yes, there is a happy ending.
But, overall, Pitch Perfect is cute with a stellar soundtrack. Choir nerds unite!
