Pitch Perfect Review

Can this Glee-riffing new musical movie kick off 2013 on a high note?
A confession- I have a soft spot for musical films. From Mamma Mia to The Muppets, pretty much any flick that's daring enough to carry out two or more fully-fledged ensemble numbers is a fairly guaranteed hit in my books. With that in mind, you may well be wondering whether Pitch Perfect manages to strike the same great balance of music and drama that many of the genre legends have in the past. I can safely say that those of you who've been directly opposed to the mere concept of Glee ever since its inception may want to stick well clear, but beyond that fairly small minority, if you enter the auditorium with an open mind, with any luck you'll be surprised at the quality of the end result.

Sure, the cast are mostly your average oh-so-typical American teen drama stereotypes, with Twilight's Anna Kendrick clearly picked up as a small face of recognition in the initial stages of production. All the same, there are a strong few genuine charmers in there too, with Rebel Wilson's 'Fat Amy' a wonderfully risque and hilarious character to follow and a couple of cameos from Kick-Ass' Christopher Mintz-Plasse also adding some unexpectedly innovative comedy at regular intervals. For once, this genuinely feels like a cult American production which isn't afraid to loosen up the scale a little and actually take its parody nature seriously. It's a strong departure for a crowded and predictable genre, an attribute which really gives the film a competitive edge for the most part.

Key to just about any entry in said genre is the music setlist, and in this respect, the outlook for Pitch Perfect is suitably varied. There's a pleasant variety of tracks old and new, including Don't Stop The Music, Titanium, Right Round, Turn The Beat Around, The Final Countdown and a host of other classic and modern hits that'll sink well with just about any mainstream viewer. As always, if you're going into this looking for a new filmic equivalent of one of the Summer festivals, inspiring you to find a daring new selection of unique modern tunes, then you'll have to look elsewhere. In this respect, the movie unashamedly sticks to its guns, and that approach really does end up working for the better.

When it comes down to it, the screenplay writers here know exactly the target audience that they're dealing with. They're expecting the legions of Gleeks to storm theatres in the masses, and in all honesty, they're not wrong in thinking that's where the core appeal lies. However, perhaps Pitch Perfect's greatest success is that it's not afraid to play on its viewers' expectations, nor does it condone or limit itself to those same expectations. I can't recommend this to Oscar hunters, especially with Les Miserables around the corner. Nevertheless, for those of us who can take a little more cheese and zest in our cinema every now and then, fun musical flicks don't come much better than Pitch Perfect.
3.5/5