Film Review: Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect. Rated M (sexual references and coarse language). 112 minutes. Directed by Jason Moore. Screenplay by Kay Cannon. Based on the book by Mickey Rapkin.

Verdict: A harmless, uncomplicated, musically superior film about believing in your dreams.

There’s something about this shamelessly upbeat a cappella musical comedy that eventually becomes hard to resist. Musically at least, it’s in a class of its own – with an excellent score, performed with great style and flair by a talented young cast. What they lack in miming skills, they more than make up for with charismatic performances, creating a tightly-knit ensemble determined that we have a marvellously uncomplicated time of it all.

With dreams of going to Los Angeles to become a DJ, Beca (Anna Kendrick) first has to reluctantly obey her father’s wish by going to university. When she finds herself invited to join the university’s all-girls singing group (The Bellas), her skill as a DJ bring some much-needed revitalisation to the group’s repertoire as they take on the school’s all-boys a capella group in a series of competitions to decide who will be the a capella champions.

While Cannon’s unadventurous and uneven screenplay could have done with a judicious prune and lots more laughs, Moore’s (TV’s Dawson’s Creek and Brothers and Sisters) direction of his fresh young cast keeps it all mostly honest and unaffected. Kendrick (Up In The Air, The Twilight Saga films) is a perfectly charming lead, beginning as an unenthusiastic student killing time before displaying her vocal, percussive and mixing skills to fine effect as the a cappella competitions heat up.

Sydney-born Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids, What to Expect When You're Expecting) continues to cement her reputation as one of Hollywood’s go-to comediennes, and her delivery of some of the screenplay’s wickedest observations is wonderfully dry. Brittany Snow (Chloe) and Anna Camp (Aubrey) deliver strong performances as the only two members of The Bellas left after a disastrous performance at the previous year’s finals. Their spirited camaraderie serves to help keep the film afloat long after it has come perilously close to outstaying its welcome.

Pictured: Rebel Wilson and Anna Kendrick in Pitch Perfect.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.