Pitch Perfect (2012)
Directed by Jason Moore
College student Beca knows she does not want to be part of a clique, but that's exactly where she finds herself after arriving at her new school. Thrust in among mean gals, nice gals and just plain weird gals, Beca finds that the only thing they have in common is how well they sing together. She takes the women of the group out of their comfort zone of traditional arrangements and into a world of amazing harmonic combinations in a fight to the top of college music competitions.
26 connections found
View:
26 films that influenced Pitch Perfect
What critics say influenced Pitch Perfect
The film even borrows the "wacky commentator" schtick from the likes of Dodgeball, Best In Show or Baseketball, and does it really well.
John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks, a pair of cast-iron comic troupers who can't help but be fun to watch, are stranded as a pair of despicable color commentators hurling passive-aggressive insults at the Bellas, a steal from Best in Show that would be obvious even without Higgins right there reminding us that the earlier film exists; they get laughs out of many of their lines (how could they not, those two?), but the film would certainly be stronger without them.
A time-honored sports movie tradition is observed by having announcers provide "witty" play-by-play commentary for the cable network airing the event (they are played by Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins, who's channeling Fred Willard from Christopher Guest's Best in Show).
Painfully stating the obvious, the event announcers (John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks, goofing like Best In Show ) point out The Bellas are no match for the fellas of Treble Makers, perennial winners led by the perfectly obnoxious Bumper (Adam DeVine).
It’s a quirky world not unlike, say, the dog show world featured in that terribly funny movie “Best in Show.”
John Michael Higgins (“Best in Show”) and co-producer Elizabeth Banks (“The Hunger Games”) are the acid-tongued commentators at the big competitions.
The love story goes nowhere, only serving to make a weird, self-serving parallel to one of the all-time great teenage comedies, “The Breakfast Club.”
One wishes the filmmakers had found room for more rough-edged oddities as this and spent less time borrowing goodwill from The Breakfast Club (and so soon after Easy A pulled the same act).
Beca develops a friendship with Jesse (Skylar Astin) from the rival group, and their friendship grows over his insistence that she learn to appreciate the classic John Hughes movie “The Breakfast Club.”
A scene where Kendrick and male lead Skylar Astin sort records is cheesy in the extreme, but it doesn’t half bring a smile to the lips, as does his undying love for John Hughes’ classic 80s film The Breakfast Club, the significance of which Beca doesn’t immediately comprehend.
And it's not even good John Hughes (like The Breakfast Club , which is explicitly acknowledged).
The story is pure formula, but, like Jesse's love of 1985's "The Breakfast Club," that's okay as long as there are well-observed characters to care about and a savvy soundtrack to compliment them.
The debut work of director Jason Moore (who was nominated for a Tony for helming Avenue Q) and scripter Kay Cannon (a 30 Rock vet), the film also recalls a dulcet Mean Girls, Bring It On, and pretty much any other school-set tale about being a fish out of water, love-hate relationships, cliques, competition, and letting that little light of yours shine.
"Pitch Perfect," a scattershot but infectious comedy in the vein of "Bring It On" and TV's "Glee," is here to capitalize on the a cappella boom, although its formula -- rival performing groups compete for an award -- could be (and has been) applied to just about everything.
"Pitch Perfect" does for a capella (making music with mouths, as we're constantly reminded) what "Bring It On" was to cheerleading.
If you’re at all predisposed to the choreographed karaoke of Glee, the underdog schematics of teen competitions à la Bring It On or the Step Up cycle, and the hero-misfits of a John Hughes comedy, then this slight but sunny entertainment is something of an idiot-grin-maker.
Built on a template that’s familiar to anyone who’s seen such movies as Bring It On, this comedy uses an engaging cast and a parade of popular songs (energetically recreated by several choral groups) to create a buoyant crowd-pleaser.
Combining the energy of Bring It On, the wit of Mean Girls and the vocal abilities of Glee, Pitch Perfect is an impossible-to-dislike burst of positive energy brimming with winsome performances from a game cast.
The debut work of director Jason Moore (who was nominated for a Tony for helming Avenue Q) and scripter Kay Cannon (a 30 Rock vet), the film also recalls a dulcet Mean Girls, Bring It On, and pretty much any other school-set tale about being a fish out of water, love-hate relationships, cliques, competition, and letting that little light of yours shine.
Screenwriter Kay Cannon must have learnt a lot from Tina Fey while working on 30 Rock, because her feature debut Pitch Perfect is clearly a descendant of Mean Girls.
(Echoes of Tina Fey’s screenplay for “Mean Girls, ” anyone?)
Combining the energy of Bring It On, the wit of Mean Girls and the vocal abilities of Glee, Pitch Perfect is an impossible-to-dislike burst of positive energy brimming with winsome performances from a game cast.
Like Mean Girls and Clueless before it, Pitch Perfect takes what ought to be a story with limited appeal and makes it so hilarious you can't deny it.
For those moments and more, "Pitch Perfect" is delightfully funny and geeky, and it's a fun addition to the sub-genre populated by films such as "Bring It On" and "Mean Girls" (and is just as funny).
Advertisement
We're talking Career Opportunities-type John Hughes.
One wishes the filmmakers had found room for more rough-edged oddities as this and spent less time borrowing goodwill from The Breakfast Club (and so soon after Easy A pulled the same act).
Along with 2009’s Easy A, this triumvirate make up the best girl-centric teen flicks of the past decade.
Rivals "21 Jump Street" for being the funniest studio comedy since "Easy A."
The debut feature from director Jason Moore (Broadway's "Avenue Q") and writer Kay Cannon ("30 Rock"), based on the non-fiction book by Mickey Rapkin, feels like a mash-up of "Glee" and "Revenge of the Nerds," with a broad soundtrack ranging from David Guetta and Bruno Mars to The Bangles and Simple Minds.
The good news is, it’s much funnier and meaner than the show that influenced it; and if you squint a little, it’s basically an all-girl remake of Revenge Of The Nerds.
Director Jason Moore (a Tony nominee for Broadway's "Avenue Q") and screenwriter Kay Cannon (a producer and story editor on "30 Rock") pretty much eschew the vulgarity that's in vogue for most campus comedies, instead favoring a sexually unthreatening sweetness appropriate for the tween girls and their sidekicks who will be the movie's most enthusiastic admirers; the result is efficient and unpretentious — an estrogenized quasi-musical that's more "Revenge of the Nerds" than "Bridesmaids."
So, in the tradition of every movie from “The Dirty Dozen” to “Revenge of the Nerds” (not to mention the hit television show “Glee”), they assemble a ragtag team of singers, including Beca, a brash Tasmanian named Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) and Lilly (Hana Mae Lee), an introvert who barely speaks above a murmur.
Beca’s Kevin Bacon, Aubrey’s the preacher, and the group is the town from “Footloose.”
Advertisement
Anna Kendrick only had a small role in her debut film, 2003's indie musical " Camp ," but it was a splashy one that found her bringing down the house with her performance of "Ladies Who Lunch" from Broadway musical "Company."
Elizabeth Banks ("Hunger Games") and John Michael Higgins ("Yes Man," "We Bought a Zoo" ) get zany as color commentators (their on-air banter echoes the ironic and iconic "Best of Show," in which Higgins' gay dog-handler was unforgettable).