Pitch Perfect - Review

Script + Plot - 7
Characters - 8
Actors - 8
Soundtrack - 8
Visuals + Sounds - 7
Editing + Cinematography - 7
Directing - 8
Effect - 7

Raw Overall Score - 7.5

Personal Overall Score - 7.2

Brief Overall Review: This quirky musical was very entertaining and is one of those few movies I can watch over and over again. Where this movie could have easily been a cheesy ridiculous mess of a 'chick flick' it was made brilliant by the actors and their ability to turn something perhaps unbelievable and inane into a genuinely interesting story. The cinematography of the movie whilst not anything special did not hinder the movie's progression. By far the most impressive thing in the movie despite the acting abilities was the soundtrack and sound mixing, especially during the acapella sections, they were controlled so well and is probably what distinguished this movie from any other musical primarily aimed at teenagers and/or young adults.

Script + Plot - The plot of the movie is quite simple and basic and to an extent predictable 'like the guy gets the girl, and that kid sees dead people and Darth Vader is Luke's father.' Plot (via IMDb): Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.  However what makes the movie stand out in terms of the storyline is the underlying message, it is much easier to read into if you have ever experienced the situation, personally I am quite a bit like Beca the main character and therefore could understand more easily what she was dealing with. The movie was essentially trying to show that we need people to connect with, whether we like to admit it or not, and at the end of the day you'll get sick of being alone and trying to do things by yourself which is what the lead character Beca was trying to do. The script could easily have been a cheesy mess if not for the actors and the directing, it wasn't as funny or as clever as the writers probably thought but it did okay and it gave a unique and creative spin on the movie so I'll give this a 7.

Characters - The characters were definitely interesting and all different in their own way, and whilst we rarely got the opportunity to really understand some of them and get their background stories, I believe we got a good sample amount and they were entertaining. I loved how the characters were handled by the different actors and really for this movie I feel like the characters and actors go hand in hand because they were all believable as the characters they played and managed to make characters that could be as silly and cheesy as characters from a DCOM into characters that were a bit more real. An 8 for this category.

Actors - I thought the actors were brilliant in this movie, some of my favourite performances include Anna Kendrick who was natural in her role, Rebel Wilson who had great line deliveries, Adam DeVine, Utkarsh Ambudkah, Jinhee Joung and Elizabeth Banks. I can't say that anyone was completely off, now and then some actors weren't particularly believable; for example Skylar Astin did have a few parts where he looked like he was struggling to keep it looking natural, and Brittany Snow sometimes took the perkiness of her character just a little overboard, however I think they all generally performed well, and I praise the casting director for this movie. An 8 again!

Soundtrack - Of course this category is the main event, being a musical naturally the soundtrack makes or breaks the movie. I can say that when I first heard of this film I was not in the least interested and thought that it sounded too much like 'Glee: The Movie'. Either way I watched the trailer and found myself a little more intrigued, and as a huge fan of typical teenage movies I knew that one way or the other I would watch it. I'm glad I did because this was nothing like Glee. Where I personally found Glee's covers somewhat boring and a little unimaginative, Pitch Perfect was the opposite. The sound mixing was great, the world of acapella that was introduced to us seemed exciting, refreshing and I guess even to some extent 'cool'. I loved the mash-ups and remixes as much as anyone else. Another 8.

Visuals + Sounds - The visuals for the movie were good when it came to lightings and colours and the more electrical parts of things. I was a little put off by how the simple act of vomiting was not made to look a bit more realistic, it seemed to me like something that could have been done so easily, but for some reason it was overlooked, it could have worked into the authenticity of the movie, however all in all the visuals were okay, nothing particularly special. The sound effects were decent too but even that could have been handled a little better than it was. A 7 for me.

Editing + Cinematography - I thought the editing was well done, when it comes to musicals editing is also a very important element and usually takes a great deal of work, I thought it was handled quite well. The cinematography was well done too, and although it was nothing spectacular, it did manage to do the film justice. A 7.

Directing - I felt that the movie was well directed and brought the effect that the director was looking for, the message of the movie was conveyed clearly and concisely and I believe that the emotions in each situation was expressed well; the movie came together nicely and was handled expertly. This movie I feel could have turned into a very different thing had we been presented with a different director, Jason Moore made his stamp on the movie, and although I know little to nothing of the book that the movie was adapted from, I am almost sure he was able to capture the emotions underlying the literature and express them whilst still managing to make it his own.

Effect - Like I said previously I found myself relating to Beca's character, I adore it when I can relate to a character in a movie even if it's just one emotion I can share, it usually means the actor is doing a pretty damn good job of expressing that emotion to the point where it feels genuine. I liked that I could relate to her character and also understand the reasons behind her actions and could understand what the movie was about underneath the whole extravagance of the acapella championships. The movie of course gave me a happy feeling at the end just as I feel whenever I watch a teen flick like this, it also taught me a lesson or two about opening up to people. Above all it's a movie that I can watch again and again and again and never get bored and I certainly think that that is an important factor. I'll give the movie a 7 for effect.


Who should watch it?
If like me you're a huge fan of Anna Kendrick's work, or Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Adam DeVine or even Elizabeth Banks, if you enjoy musicals especially modern ones, if you like what people call 'chick flicks' or teenage movies or even just movies situated in colleges, if you like Glee, if you don't like Glee and you want to see more imaginative and exciting covers, if you just want to watch a fun entertaining 'feel good' movie, if you've read Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin, if you're interested in the world of acapella.