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Like its predecessor, PITCH PERFECT 2 doesn’t hide from formula, instead embracing it to wring out the laughs still present. With a bigger and better team, the Barden Bellas are off to compete at a bigger and better competition, but not without having to rediscover their sound along the way. If only the movie could discover its identity as well. Instead it keeps crossing the line by making fun of itself and then immediately taking itself too seriously. The production is incredibly funny when the Barden Bellas are sing-offing with the Green Bay Packers, but loses that momentum when Hailee Steinfeld signs a generic, boring pop tune that is supposed to signify the characters becoming “original.”
PITCH PERFECT 2 takes place 3 years after the first, with the Bellas starting their victory lap after their third straight national championship. Beca (Anna Kendrick) and Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) are seniors now, a seemingly odd choice at first given the propensity for a third movie, but it becomes clear that the film’s central tone is on the premise of finding oneself as they move on. The story opens with a presidential mishap as Fat Amy accidentally exposes herself during a performance in front on the Obamas (hilariously-used stock footage). In order to keep the Barden Bellas for being disbanded, they must win the world championships despite being unable to recruit legacy freshman Emily (Hailee Steinfeld). On top of this pressure, the main Bellas have to deal with the finality of leaving, as Beca’s music producer boss (Keegan Michael Key) is trying to encourage her to find her own abilities.
The music is fantastic: the a capella sounds great and is able to transition through songs with ease, as it is the form’s main selling point. Apart from the three Bellas mentioned above and Chloe (Brittany Snow), the rest of the Bellas are one note jokes: the creepy one, the immigrant, the black AND lesbian. It works fine as the movie acknowledges it, but the jokes never get past the point of stereotype. John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks return with bigger roles as commentators, and are increasingly funny. The Bellas main rivals, Das Sound Machine, are a German embodiment of intimidation, but the two leads of that group are given enough personality to be funny when bouncing off of Kendrick. The commentary never fails to remind us of the ridiculousness of a world a capella competition, and Higgins offbeat comments land every time. The funniest scene in the film is the sing off featuring an ANCHORMAN 2 level of guest stars duking it out with good music.
Unlike Higgins and Banks, Steinfeld is the source of the film’s shortcomings. The basis of her character as a legacy is that she takes the Barden Bellas too seriously, given her mother has hyped the organization her entire life. The film never corrects her, instead puts her in the spotlight as fresh blood reforming the group with an original sound. Where Kendrick or Wilson can carry the movie based on personality alone, Steinfeld is just… boring. Kendrick’s internship with Key is disjointed from the rest of the film, but it works because the two actors are hilarious together and remind us of a bigger picture. Steinfeld is Elizabeth Banks’ soapbox for sisterhood and most likely falls so flat due to the uninspired Jessie J song “Flashlight” acting as the film’s main theme of originality.
PITCH PERFECT 2 is still roaring funny when it’s playing its cards right, but sparse scenes where the parody ends bring the film down.
