Darkmatters Review: Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect (12a)

Dir. Jason Moore

Reviewed by Mett Adcock

"I’m sure we can find super-hot girls with bikini-ready bodies who are pitch perfect singers…."

Meet the Barden Bellas, an all female collegiate a cappella group – bitchy and sexy, they failed embarrassingly in the big finals last year thanks to their uptight leader Aubrey (Anna ‘Mad Men’ Camp) who vomited all over the place… This year they need to win but their intake is slightly different – including Beca (Anna ‘End of Watch’ Kendrick),an alt-girl wannabe DJ, ‘Fat’ Amy (Rebel Wilson) who lives up to her name and Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) whose voice is a constant whisper but who says the most inappropriate things – all the time…

Directed by Jason Moore – based on the novel by Mickey Rapkin Pitch Perfect is a riotous blast of aca-fun which rips the piss out of Glee and other musical teen shows / films. Can this oddball bunch of girls overcome their misunderstood / misfit status and take on the cooler groups including the cocky all boy group ‘The Treblemakers’?

On paper this sounds like a cringe inducing waste of time and effort but to my complete surprise Pitch Perfect delivers a laugh-out-loud / feel-good dose of musical fun. The humour goes for a well-delivered gross out / unexpectedly dark vibe which puts this on the same playing field as Bridesmaids or 21 Jump Street.

Of course packing the cast with hot females is a win for male viewers too – Kendrick shows off her pleasing cleavage in just about every shot of her and the rest of the group tick the different look stereotypes – foxy redhead (Brittany Snow), man-eating slut (Alexis Knapp), feisty lesbian (Ester Dean) etc…

My esteemed pal Tom Wade nailed it in his review: ‘Well this is awkward… Everything about Pitch Perfect tells me that this is the sort of film that I should actively be protesting about as opposed to watching. A film that involves actresses clearly in their 30’s playing late teens/early twenties? Eurgh. A film that has no doubt been made due to the popularity of Glee? Stop! A film about an a cappella singing competition that has a plot so signposted that a 4 year old could see the ending 90 minutes earlier? No!

And yet… Something strange happened in Pitch Perfect. Maybe it’s the presence of the delightful Anna Kendrick, or maybe the spiky script or clever song routines, but by the end of Pitch Perfect I’d actually (whisper it) rather enjoyed myself.’

For an unexpectedly good time – Pitch Perfect shouldn’t be overlooked, prepare to get pitch slapped!

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö1/2 - son of a pitch, this is really funny!?

3.5 – will fill you with glee...

Awesomeness ööö – maintains the momentum

Laughs öööö – really funny throughout

Horror öö – a little icky but nothing too bad

Babes öööö – something for everyone!

Spiritual Enlightenment öö - trust in yourself and your friends

Alexis Knapp (also in Project X this year)

Brittany Snow