A scrappy, silly little comedy called "Pitch Perfect" made a few bucks a couple of years ago so, naturally, the story of a ragtag a cappella group was stretched into a needless trilogy. The second film was an almost entirely retread of the first, as is the latest installment, "Pitch Perfect 3," with an added sense of desperation to try and mix things up.
At the end of the day, "Pitch Perfect 3" is targeted to its modest fanbase, who will enjoy every bit of it (admittedly, there were a great deal of laughs in my theater - did these people not see the first two?). Even so, by the third movie in any series it's hard to feel fresh and "Pitch Perfect 3" certainly sounds a bit hoarse.
The Bellas are now out of college and doing their own thing. Beca (Anna Kendrick), Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), Chloe (Brittany Snow) and Aubrey (Anna Camp) are eager to be invited to a Bella reunion but are quickly made aware the new class of Bellas (led by Hailee Steinfeld) invited them to watch and not sing.
Crushed, they sit around the venue's bar and lament about the current states of their respective lives. They just want to sing. Aubrey concocts the idea to go on a USO tour because her father is in the military and they could probably get in based on his connections. They soon find out other singers will be there, competing to open for DJ Khaled. Ruby Rose leads a rival band, who dare to - gasp! - use instruments.
"Pitch Perfect 3" mostly plays out like those that came before it, making the Bellas the punch-line of these competitions, until they suddenly rise above. We've seen all of the scenarios and jokes played out and the script by series vet Kay Cannon and Mike White isn't able to add any zest or verve between the Bellas to make the movie very funny.
At one point, the writers looked at each other and had the conversation that they needed to shake things up, so "Pitch Perfect 3" is obviously overstuffed with nonsense subplots to make it all seem a bit more daring. Amy's father (played by John Lithgow, sporting a terrible, probably offensive Australian accent) comes in to the picture to bring familial baggage to Amy's story to try and give her one-note character something of an arc. Everything involving Wilson and Lithgow is something out of a different movie.
Trish Sie steps in as director (taking over from Elizabeth Banks, who helmed the second film) and tries to keep things lively and moving at a brisk pace. For something so tired and a bit of a has-been, "Pitch Perfect 3" is at least moves at a decent speed.
The cast remains in high spirits, even if the Wilson character has gone from scene-stealer to grating and repetitive. Kendrick is endlessly charming and is impossible to not like as Beca but is more than ready to move past this series. As always, the highlight of the movie - of the series, even - are Banks and John Michael Higgins as the commentators, who follow the Bellas around to film a documentary about them (question: why?)
"Pitch Perfect 3" is said to be the end of the Bellas and one could only hope because these movies have become the cinematic version of lip-syncing.
| Movie title | Pitch Perfect 3 |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2017 |
| MPAA Rating | PG-13 |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | This third installment in a needless trilogy about a ragtag a cappella group will play well to its modest fanbase, but by now it's sounding a bit hoarse. |
