Pitch Perfect 2

Well that was a disappointment.

Without comparing this movie to it's shining predecessor, it's barely passable. I tried giving this one a fair shot. I really did. But after all of the reoccurring fat and racist jokes, bland songs with poor choreography, and dull direction, I realized this was simply a cash grab for all involved.

Nowadays sequels are normally already cash grabs but I was hoping that newcomer (to the directors chair) Elizabeth Banks would have been able to challenge everyone, upset the established order and give us all something interesting to watch. Instead, Pitch Perfect 2 was Pitch Perfect without the heart and forced drama.

This movie begins three years after the first one ends with the Barden Bellas on top of their a cappella game, with mash-master Beca (Anna Kendrick) at the helm. Following her every move is the same crew as before with Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), Chloe (Brittany Snow) and new to the group, Emily (Hailee Steinfeld). Right off the bat we see the group performing for the most prestigious of audiences: the President of the United States. And as per the Barden way, an embarrassing costume malfunction disrupts the performance and lands the BB's in hot water. They are disbanded and no longer allowed to perform in any further tour obligations. Everyone sees them as the sore thumb of the a cappella world and the only way the can win back their reputation and respect is to win the world championship, which no American team has ever won.

So to recap the plot, something terrible happens in the beginning during a performance, they are shamed and then find a seemingly impossible goal to get back on top. Then, they have to regroup, bring in some new blood, rework their set, randomly battle with other a cappella groups, have a fight about life and priorities, and then come together again just in time for the final battle and win everything. Sound like a familiar plot line? It should. It's basically the same as the first movie. The only parts of this movie that were actually interesting, was the relationship between Bumper and Fat Amy and Beca's real life questions/concerns about what to do after graduation. Those were real moments that I wish they would have explored more. Instead they put those in the background just so they could say the movie was different than the first, when in all reality, it was beat for beat the same.

Irregardless of everything above, there were moments that I really enjoyed. Some of their jokes landed hard and had the entire audience in stitches. Some musical numbers were great, but the choreography wasn't as impressive as the first. One thing I think Elizabeth Banks really brought to the table on this one was her eye for random humor. How can you make a sing-off more entertaining than the last movie? Bring in the Green Bay Packers! Do you have a character that doesn't bring a lot to the table and could be too serious? Bring in Keegan-Michael Key to ad lib and just go for it! Those were the funniest parts and what seemed to be direct decisions from Banks. When the actors just ad libbed and did their thing, the audience was laughing. But with so many fat jokes, racist jokes, and sexist jokes, I didn't know what to do. It felt as if they looked at the first movie, made a note of whatever got a laugh, and then did that same exact joke about forty more times in this one.

This movie is definitely not worth seeing in theaters, but it may be fun to put in when a group of friends are over so it plays in the background. Without any characters to really bond with and some fun music, it's perfect for background noise. It's nowhere near as entertaining as the first, but still has something there.