There’s a natural sense of trepidation when a sequel comes around to a small, unheralded movie which turned into an unexpected hit, as was the case for Pitch Perfect. The original may have been a barely disguised riff on Glee, aiming to latch onto the coattails of the series’ popularity, but an excellent cast, slyly sympathetic characters and a surprisingly edgy line in humour combined to form its own version of the victorious underdog story. The difficulty in producing sequels to such movies is not only that the element of surprise is gone, but the need to raise the stakes over its predecessor can often lead to the small, personal charms which gave the original its identity being overlooked.

Pitch Perfect 2 doesn’t escape that curse, but the first movie’s delights are strong enough that the many elements which are carried over wholesale, whilst never as funny or fresh as the first time around, nevertheless make it far from A Ca-tastrophe. What, you didn’t think you were going to get through a Pitch Perfect review without some A Cappella puns, did you? I’m afraid that much is positively A Ca-demic.

OK, that’ll do.

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Pitch Perfect 2
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: May 15th, 2015

Pitch Perfect 2 follows all the sequel tropes to the letter, which means that having won the Nationals, the Bellas must now move onto the World Championships, facing off against the requisite superpowered Eurotrash villains, who go by the amusingly idiotic name of Das Sound Machine (DSM) – did no-one on the writing staff know even a second word of German? The stakes are also higher, with the Bellas in danger of being suspended from collegiate competitions following a wardrobe malfunction in front of a stock-footaged President Obama. None of it makes much sense (should the Bellas care about collegiate suspension when already competing globally? The movie doesn’t investigate) but while that’s not much of a problem in and of itself, because no-one in their right mind sits through an A Cappella movie expecting to be riveted by plot, it is representative of a rushed, slightly underdeveloped feeling that permeates much of the movie.

The original may have been as formulaic and straightforward as it goes, but worked that simplicity to its advantage by layering pathos and fun into the surrounding details. This time around, the central plotline remains unashamedly locked to formula but is bogged down by superfluous subplots that inform character only on the most superficial level and feature little meaningful interaction with the story we’re here to see. Beca trying to use an internship at a record label to put in place the building blocks of a producing career, and her fears of not being good enough, is a fine idea, but adds no extra conflict or complication, barring a small amount of rapidly dismissed angst, to the Bellas’ path to global domination. The same goes for a character-undermining romance for Fat Amy, whose appeal is rooted in her free-spirited independence. Neither offers anywhere near the required number of laughs or worthwhile performances to justify the time they steal away from the main plot.

pitch perfect 2 germans sound machine

The Championships plot is itself a bit of a mess, jam-packed with montages and pacing issues which means the event itself is compressed into a tiny amount of screentime. Were it not stated beforehand, you’d only know the finals take place in Copenhagen, for instance, thanks to one establishing scene barely lasting a minute. The number of tangents and diversions the Bellas go through never feel like anything less than padding, but are at least mostly enjoyable. A pre-Championships competition at a country club owned by David Cross doesn’t serve any purpose, but brings in a handful of enjoyable music numbers as a like-for-like, if less character-driven, replacement for the first movie’s riff-off. The boot camp later attended by the Bellas to rediscover themselves in light of the seemingly insurmountable competition of DSM also feels more like an excuse for the cast to have a fun few weeks messing around at a forest resort, but leads to a sweet bonding scene for the girls around a bonfire and brings out an unexpectedly affecting refrain for Anna Kendrick’s ‘Cups’ song.

The relationship between the girls is the glue which holds the movie together, this time focusing on how each of them has been changed by the friendships formed in the group, continuing a long tradition of Bellas finding strength in each other. Newcomer Emily, daughter of a former Bella (played by Katey Sagal, whose lack of screentime and singing opportunities is verging on the disgraceful) effectively takes the role of second lead and is played with great warmth by Hailee Steinfeld. With a second Pitch Perfect sequel already on the cards, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Steinfeld take over as leader of the group from Beca, played by Anna Kendrick in a performance which feels like her first phone-in. The famous awkward Kendrick charm is all there, but on auto-pilot. Whether that’s down to disengagement on her part or simply weaker material remains to be seen, because Rebel Wilson too struggles to hit the same blunderbuss highs as in her first run as Amy.

anna kendrick pitch perfect

The movie is amusing throughout, but not as consistently laugh out loud as its predecessor. Part of this is down to more lines falling flat, with such potentially strong running gags as Beca’s inability to come up with any solid burns against the physically flawless DSM members never achieving the laughs they should. The first movie’s fondness for its characters’ quirks is also replaced by what at times skirts perilously close to a mean streak. There’s nothing wrong with indulging in ironic stereotypical humour, as the original did with aplomb, but here it too often feels as though the movie is falling back on it due to a lack of anything wittier. Newcomer Florencia (Chrissie Fit) adopts the same line in disruptive non-sequiturs about strange foreign customs as was previously stock in trade for Lilly (Hana Mae Lee), who is subsequently given less material. John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks as Christopher Guest-esque oddball commentators once again provide some of the biggest laughs, but their interactions are more locked into a repeated format (he exuberantly delivers a sexist quip, she offhandedly cuts him down for it) than was the case first time around.

Banks also moves into the director’s chair, having served as executive producer first time around, and her inexperience manifests in an infuriating refusal to let the performances and visuals work for themselves. The movie’s rhythm is savaged with incessant camera movement and quick cutting, somehow squeezing two especially obnoxious cuts into an early shot of the Bellas walking across the Barden University campus. It settles as the movie progresses, but remains intrusive during the big numbers and flat everywhere else. Despite these complaints, the movie’s affection for its characters, a set of catchy performances and the inherently likeable silliness of a world where A Cappella cheesiness is treated with life-and-death importance – the Eurovision Song Contest gone global, and slightly less hilarious – carries it over the line even if the ride is decidedly bumpier than first time around. There’s nothing as memorable as vomit angels, Beca going into an impromptu rap or getting caught short in the shower (or a line as unintentionally funny as “You know David Guetta?”), but it should prove no less easily rewatchable. Even if this second performance is noticeably less finely tuned, it hits the right notes often enough to earn a passing grade.