On Sunday afternoon I met three friends at Assembly Row in Somerville to see "Pitch Perfect 2." Before I get into my thoughts on the film, I have to say two things: first, LOFT is having a sale - two for one shorts and second, if you want the ultimate movie candy, pop into Sugar Heaven before you head into the theater and get chocolate covered gummi bears. You'll thank me.
When I first heard there would be a sequel to "Pitch Perfect" I was over the moon. I loved the first movie so much and I couldn't stop singing "Bullet proof/Titanium." As we sat down to watch the second installment, I thought to myself, "As long as we get to spend two hours with our favorite characters, I'll be good."
Well, many of our favorites did return. For the Bellas - Beca, Chloe, Fat Amy, Cynthia and Lily (the girl who whispers). For the Treblemakers - Bumper (my personal fave), Jesse and Benji. And then of course, the two most politically incorrect announcers on the planet, John and Gail.
*SPOILER ALERT! Do not read on if you don't want to know anything about the plot of the movie. Stop. Stop right now.*
The story opens with the Barden Bellas performing for the President and Fat Amy's jump suit ripping wide open, showing the whole world her lady bits. As punishment, the Bellas are stripped of their national title. In order to be reinstated, they will have to win the world championships of a cappella.
For the first 30 minutes of the movie I was completely bored and I was thinking, "What a shame they couldn't recapture the magic." That was until . . . Fat Amy decided to serenade her one true love, Bumper, while paddling to him in a canoe.
The entire theater was laughing so hard it was impossible to even hear the song lyrics. That was my undisputed favorite moment.
I also enjoyed the a cappella battle (not an ounce of originality in the plot here, but we'll let it go). I particularly enjoyed the unexpected fifth group, the Green Bay Packers. Who wouldn't want to see Clay Matthews singing? Thank you for that treat.
In the final fifteen minutes, things really picked up and I was getting into it. I could feel myself leaning closer to the screen and suppressing the urge to sing along.
The film ends with the world championships of a cappella. Pentatonix (one of my favorites) has a cameo as the Canadian team and then the returning champions, the Germans, do the most incredible version of Fall Out Boy's "Light 'Em Up."
The Bellas took the stage for their grand finale and while I did enjoy their mashups and their choreography, it was nothing like the finale in "Pitch Perfect." Remember how wide we all smiled during that final scene? When Beca so clearly worked in the song from "The Breakfast Club" as a nod to her love for Jesse? Sigh.
Speaking of, "Pitch Perfect 2" barely had any Beca/Jesse scenes and I was majorly disappointed. I really loved them together.
I also thought the inappropriateness of the announcers' jokes reached an all time low. They also added a new Bella, Flo, whose sole purpose was to be the butt of a bunch of really disgusting immigration jokes. Dislike.
I have mixed feelings about the youngest Bella, Emily, played by Hailee Steinfeld. When it came to her participation in the group she was a total eager beaver (which I hate in movies and in real life), but in the scenes she shared with Benji, I melted. They were so cute together.
I think the biggest difference between the first movie and this second one is, with the first film I truly wanted to download and learn to sing every single one of the songs. I replayed them constantly, I watched the movie over and over again and I just couldn't get enough. With this second attempt, it fell flat. The music wasn't as fun and all the relationships I loved watching got minimal screen time.
Tell me, did you see the movie? Did you like it as much as the first one?
