Not pitched to perfection
THE camp Pitch Perfect, an underdog movie about an all-girl, a cappella college singing group, featuring a quirky cast headed by the lovely Anna Kendrick and delightful Aussie comedienne Rebel Wilson, came as a surprise delight in 2012.
It offered a refreshing, sweet storyline laced with humour and some fun songs, not least a hit rendition of Cups, a reworking of a 1931 Carter Family song, When I’m Gone.
Such was the success of this Glee variation for the big screen that a sequel was inevitable. But it sure comes as an enormous surprise to learn that, since being released last Friday, Pitch Perfect 2 has raked in a whopping R6 250 079 at the local boxoffice – which exceeds the entire run of Pitch Perfect.
That’s not all, a press release states that the sequel has now also become South Africa’s highest-grossing film musical opening ever, overtaking High School Musical 3.
That’s a big indicator of the impact the first film had, because the follow-up doesn’t come close to reaching the high notes of the original.
Yes, the sequel retains some charm and all the original stars return, but it lacks the first film’s wit and simply tries too hard to be liked. Also, it has a flimsier plot, weak or forced humour, many silly situations, loads of stereotypes and songs that, frankly, come over as ludicrously over-produced or just plain unmemorable.
It doesn’t really say too much for the soundtrack when the vocal highlight emerges as a brief fireside rendition of Cups.
All of this, of course, is likely to fall on deaf ears as the fans flock and Pitch Perfect 2 poises itself to oust Mamma Mia! from its spot as the topgrossing movie musical in this country.
Also interesting is that the sequel has already grossed $69.2 million in the US, more than double its production budget, and earned some $38.3 million in 29 other global markets, bringing the worldwide total to date to $107.5 million – just shy of the total worldwide gross of Pitch Perfect ($115 million).
When the movie opens, the Barden Bellas, the champion vocal team everyone rooted for in the first film, is performing for a large audience, including US President Barrack Obama and his wife, Michelle.
However, the Barden Bellas end up humiliated and facing the end of their singing days when their routine goes sour and Fat Amy (rotund blonde Wilson, a lot less amusing this time around) accidentally exposes herself on stage.
The team’s only way to redeem themselves, as graduation creeps ever closer, is to head for Copenhagen to try to win the world a cappella championships, where their biggest competition is a feisty German team, headed by two cheesey, no-nonsense sorts in costumes resembling cast-offs from Chicago.
An American team has never won the global championships, but it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that with the Barden Bellas desperate to regain their former glory, things may be different this time around.
Once again the focus is on Kendrick – most recently seen as Cinderella in the film version of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods – as Becca, queen of the Barden Bellas’ popular mash-up arrangements, who now also pursues musical projects outside of the group, one involving Snoop Dogg.
We also have a newbie in the group, who injects some freshness into the team, which covers songs by Beyoncé, Pat Benatar, Miley Cyrus and Natalie Imbruglia, among others. She is Emily, played by Hailee Steinfeld, an Oscarnominee for 2010’s True Grit.