When you mix the music from “Glee” with the humor from “Superbad,” you get a comedy that provides belly laughs and groovy tunes, otherwise known as “Pitch Perfect.”
Monday night, Program Council hosted a sneak peak of the movie, in theaters Oct. 5. “Pitch Perfect” follows rival collegiate a capella groups, the Barden Bellas and The Treblemakers, as they battle it out to be national champions.
Monday night Program Council aired a pre-theater release showing of the movie “Pitch Perfect” for students in Chem 140. The movie will be out in theaters October 5. (CU Independent/Amy E. Leder)
Before the film, all-male CU a capella group, the Buffoons, and all-female group, On the Rocks, battled it out in Chem 140. The Buffoons started off with Toto’s “Africa,” showing the audience the playful and impressive nature of a capella. On the Rocks rebutted with “Settle Down” by Kimbra, the perfect song to be sung with no instruments. It served as a good introduction to the movie and a peek at some of the hidden talent at CU.
“Pitch Perfect” was full of great one-liners and was funny throughout, but it fell victim to over-marketing. The trailer gave away several of the best jokes and made me feel as if I had already seen most of the movie.
The real shining point of the film was the great performances by the star-studded cast, which featured Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins. The always-great Kendrick gives a knockout performance and showed the world her impressive pipes. But the best performance goes to the new comedy sweetheart Rebel Wilson, who plays Fat Amy, and delivers the funniest lines in the film.
One star who didn’t get enough screen time was “Workaholics” Adam DeVine. Even though he got big laughs and played the villain of the movie, his character was underdeveloped and underused.
“Pitch Perfect” provided a realistic picture of college. Instead of focusing on the partying aspect, which plenty movies have done to death, “Pitch Perfect” focuses on the camaraderie that comes from joining a club and the joy that students get from pursuing a passion. It was a refreshing take from other cliche´ collegiate portrayals like “Animal House” and “Van Wilder.”
One element that rocked the crowd was the soundtrack. Choosing from a diverse range of songs, the movie featured covers of artists including Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Simple Minds and Blackstreet. The remixes and mash-ups were a highlight of the movie, and the riff-off stole the show.
Even though “Pitch Perfect” had some strong points in the form of its music, the story was inconsistent and fell short. The characters, while funny, were underdeveloped and hard to relate to. Anna Camp’s Aubrey and Snow’s Chloe were central figures yet completely one-dimensional. The movie would have benefited from less characters and more character development.
Although it had the skeleton for a good movie, when thrown together, something felt out of place. If you want to laugh and jam to some tunes, check out “Pitch Perfect.” It’s a fun movie for those looking for a break from midterms. But if you’re looking for a rich, cohesive story, then skip it.
Contact CU Independent Editor-In-Chief Amanda Moutinho at Amanda.moutinho@colorado.edu
