Director: Elizabeth Banks
Stars: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Katey Sagal, Anna Camp, Ben Platt, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, Birgitte Hjort Sorensen, Flula Borg, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins
The girls are back! After winning the Acapella National Championships three years in a row the Barton Bellas are invited to perform for the President himself. But after a mishap tarnishes their reputation they’re banned from performing in the championships. In order to redeem themselves they enter the world championships in the hope that they can win. However, to do so they must defeat the reigning champions Das Sound Machine.
The main thing I’m glad about with Pitch Perfect 2 is that there were no vomit jokes this time around. I’m still not a fan of Rebel Wilson but surprisingly I find her less annoying than in other films. The thing with Pitch Perfect is that, aside from maybe Becca (Kendrick), the characters basically have one characteristic and all their lines revolve around that. Lilli is a little strange and all her lines are random, there’s a Mexican member and all her lines revolve around her telling stories about how she had malaria or will have to be deported once she graduates and then sneak back into the country. Emily is a new legacy character and all her lines are about wanting to be part of the Bellas. It’s doesn’t make for any compelling character arcs…
But I still had a blast watching it because I just love acapella! The songs are really cool and the choreography is amazing. I’m not sure whether Elizabeth Banks is totally responsible or if they had specialist to come in and take care of the dance routines but they were superb. I mean, Das Sound Machine’s final sequence was so good that I couldn’t see how the Bellas could win, and I was afraid that it would feel manufactured, but then they went and blew me away!
My main complaint is that I wish more of the film had taken place at the world championships. I feel like this would have given the film an opportunity to showcase different music styles and artists from around the world, and broaden the horizons rather than use totally Western songs. But aside from that I enjoyed it mainly for the singing, what little character arcs were present were standard but if you liked the first one this one will be a winner for you.