Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)
May 15, 2015 8:18 AM - Subscribe
After a humiliating command performance at Lincoln Center, the Barden Bellas enter an international competition that no American group has ever won in order to regain their status and right to perform.
From the NYT review:
From the NYT review:
Some of the underdog appeal is gone, but a victory lap can be its own kind of fun, and more is not necessarily something to complain about, especially when what there is more of is Fat Amy.The Atlantic:
In this—in making a movie about women that’s only summarily concerned with their love lives, at best—Pitch Perfect 2 should be saluted. But it also coasts on its own success, delivering quips that feel like pallid imitations of the first film’s zany charm, and resisting any urge to make the few song-and-dance routines any bigger than they contractually have to be.
Also, Anna Kendrick's mannerisms occasionally had an uncanny resemblance to Tina Fey, and the World A-Cappella Championship is some sort of dystopian hellscape where the non-G7 nations are forced to repeatedly sing the same Journey cover for 6+ hours.
posted by schmod at 10:04 AM on May 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by schmod at 10:04 AM on May 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Yeah, it did not improve in the handling of the few non-white characters from the first show (nor did it ADD any when it added new characters). I actually liked that there was barely plot and what plot there was required huge amounts of suspension of disbelief because I thought the first movie had a stupid plot, and I just wanted Rebel Wilson doing funny things and everyone singing, and I got both.
posted by jeather at 10:05 AM on May 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by jeather at 10:05 AM on May 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Anna Kendrick Vs. The Hollywood Type Machine
posted by the man of twists and turns at 3:18 PM on May 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 3:18 PM on May 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
There was no connective tissue in the movie, and not enough emotional connectivity. The characters were set on their paths like windup toys to the end, resolving or starting their stories. By conscientiously hitting all the points on the roadmap, it felt like the characters were less fleshed out this movie, thereby making some of the stereotypes stand out more.
And I liked the movie (the end number where the Bella alums were there got to me!), but it was a bit like visiting a world you have fond memories of but are now a tourist. You see all the same spots and how they've grown and changed (or not), but it's not the same. And, granted, it is hard to duplicate the magic of the first movie, the little movie that could, but it was really clear that they were super aware of that first movie magic while making this one and striving dutifully to try and replicate it, which never works as well as one would like.
posted by julen at 6:50 PM on May 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
And I liked the movie (the end number where the Bella alums were there got to me!), but it was a bit like visiting a world you have fond memories of but are now a tourist. You see all the same spots and how they've grown and changed (or not), but it's not the same. And, granted, it is hard to duplicate the magic of the first movie, the little movie that could, but it was really clear that they were super aware of that first movie magic while making this one and striving dutifully to try and replicate it, which never works as well as one would like.
posted by julen at 6:50 PM on May 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's beating Mad Max in the weekend box office, which makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
I guess objectively it's a worse movie than PP? But I came for the acapella cover songs and silliness, so I'm satisfied. And David Cross's riff off was icing on the cake.
posted by donajo at 9:39 PM on May 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I guess objectively it's a worse movie than PP? But I came for the acapella cover songs and silliness, so I'm satisfied. And David Cross's riff off was icing on the cake.
posted by donajo at 9:39 PM on May 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Really great discussion of this movie - what worked, what didn't - on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour (FanFare post).
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 12:04 PM on May 22, 2015
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 12:04 PM on May 22, 2015
Just saw this tonight. It's stupid fun and I hope there's a third. It makes me want to seek out new music.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:30 AM on October 18, 2015
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:30 AM on October 18, 2015
Finally saw this, and liked it enough, but had a moment near the start where I realized that everyone in the PP universe is an asshole to everyone else, even the ones they apparently like. And then realized near the end that it's exactly how a gender-flipped version of the exact same movie would be, and not just in people being assholes to each other, but in how the men act in support of the women et al.
posted by Etrigan at 7:58 AM on June 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 7:58 AM on June 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
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I also agree with the AV Club that the movie didn't have terribly much in the way of a coherent plot arc. I had absolutely no investment in the central conflict or any of the characters. The musical numbers were awesome, and the jokes were good, but otherwise....
posted by schmod at 9:58 AM on May 15, 2015