Even with a ridiculous premise, ‘Pitch Perfect 2′ is a fun watch
On the surface, “Pitch Perfect 2” seems like a film with a niche audience of individuals with an interest and/or background in the world of choir or a capella.
This may be true to an extent, but after watching the film I can say with confidence that there is more to the film than that exclusively. Granted, had my girlfriend not had a background in the aforementioned choir, I probably wouldn’t be caught dead spending money to go see it.
Josh Gamez
But I did, and while I was lost in most of the backstory from the original film, I was able to figure out the majority of it within the first 25 minutes of the movie. The story itself is pretty straight-forward. A college a capella group known as the Barden Bellas were household names in the world of a capella, with three consecutive national championships to their credit.
But this is where the issues start to arise. During a performance in front of President Barack Obama on his birthday, a malfunction during their performance leads to a wardrobe malfunction by one of the characters Fat Amy, played by Rebel Wilson.
After this, there is a firestorm of backlash regarding the malfunction and they are stripped of their status as a certified a capella group in the United States. In order to regain their status, they must win the a capella world championships, which no American group has ever won.
This is a pretty ridiculous premise, and while it is easy to roll your eyes at the insanity of it all, it works well. I found myself laughing out loud at the antics on the screen on more than one occasion, and while I have zero background or interest in a capella, I thought most of the performances were pretty gnarly.
This movie also had a few cameos from the likes of Snoop Dogg and the Green Bay Packers that I got a kick out of, and while they may not have made the most sense, they all weave into the tapestry of an over-the-top film in a great way.
In the film, the main “villain,” if you can call it that, is a German a capella group known as Das Sound Machine. This came off to me a slightly cliché, given the nationalistic undertone that develops, but still, the exchanges between them and the Barden Bellas made for some interesting comedic moments.
All in all, I found myself actually interested in the storyline, as ridiculous as it was. While I cannot say this will ever be one of the films that we look back on in a decade in the same ilk as something like “Forest Gump,” it made for an enjoyable few hours.
For what it is, a comedy in which you don’t have to think much throughout, “Pitch Perfect 2” is a fun watch.
Josh Gamez can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu or on Twitter @Gamez_VN