The guy gets the girl, that kid sees dead people, Darth Vader is Luke's father...the Bellas win the International A Cappella Championships?
Ah, collegiate a cappella - apparently a "thing" over in America. Colleges around the country form (sometimes multiple) teams to fight their way to the top of the instrument-free music world. Pitch Perfect saw the debut of Anna Kendrick as the "alt girl" who can sing, joining the Barden University Bellas and taking them on to win at the National Championships.
Now, the second time round, having lost Anna Kemp but gained Hailee Steinfeld as a young Legacy, Kendrick is joined again by Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Adam DeVine and Skylar Astin to out-voice the competition.
With an opening performance by the Bellas for Obama's birthday, things don't quite go according to the arrangement, and the Bellas find themselves disqualified from competing at the collegiate level. That would have been it for the film had podcasters Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins not offered to reinstate them, should they win the international Championships. The rest of the film follows the Bellas as they journey to "find their sound" again, having seemingly fallen into the trap of being showy rather than, well, pitch perfect.
I've seen Pitch Perfect more times than John Higgin's character has been misogynistic. I adored it. The mash-ups and humour never really got old, and I could watch it again and again and still laugh at Judd Nelson jokes.
The best part about the sequel is it doesn't try to be anything else. Yes, it's full of lame jokes at the expense of the black lesbian. Yes, Fat Amy is always the one making the jokes. Yes, Bumper is still awkward. But it works. Throw in some international competition and a cameo from Snoop Dogg and I'm more out of breath than Rebel Wilson vertical running.
Pitch Perfect 2 is a perfect sequel. It's still upbeat, it's still unique, and it's still itself.
