Pitch Perfect - Movie Review

Pitch Perfect is a movie that explores the world of collegiate a cappella singing competitions (yeah, seriously) in a fun and stylish way and provides rising star Anna Kendrick with a role that just might be the big break we've all been expecting from her.

The Barden University Bellas a cappella singing group has a history of excellence yet always finishing behind their rival group, the all male Treblemakers, including a disastrous ending to the previous year's national finals. With their reputation tarnished, the ladies must restock their roster with talented girls that don't necessarily fit the classic image they have upheld for years.

As a new student at Barden, Beca (Kendrick) is looking for activities to help her through what she hopes will be a short stint at school before she moves to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional DJ and singing star. After being convinced to join the Bellas, she begins to make more of an effort to fit in, but differences in opinion and philosophy with Bella leader Aubrey may keep all of them from reaching their lofty goals.

The two things I liked most about this movie was the quick pacing and the fun song choices which were matched up perfectly with solid choreography on stage. Even with a nearly two hour running time, I never felt like the story was dragging at any point and director Jason Moore kept all peripheral story lines to a minimum rather than dragging them out and causing the movie to stop in its tracks.

Sure, there's nothing groundbreaking here, but Pitch Perfect perfectly pitches a movie that is filled with fun songs and lots of laughs without falling into the traps that make similar films fall apart. Anna Kendrick also doesn't do anything here to put her over the top as a big time star although if you don't already have a soft spot for this sassy girl next door, you most likely will after watching her here.