Pitch Perfect (2012); musical drama comedy film review

Poster artwork for the musical drama comedy film Pitch Perfect.

A cappella Achievement by Linh

Pitch Perfect is a comedy musical drama about breaking with tradition, not pushing away those who care about you, and not being afraid of other people’s differences. The film also depicts moments where we are reminded of gender inequality in the area of competitive a cappella performance in college that highlights sexism and misogyny. This film could be the first to depict the world of competitive collegiate a cappella singing at a very high standard and the quality of singing is diverse. Perhaps the interest of a cappella singing can be attributed to the popularity of the American reality television show The Sing-Off that screened on NBC since 2009.

A CA-BREATHING: Aubrey (Anna Camp) teaches Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) proper breathing techniques in singing in the film Pitch Perfect. Image: Universal Pictures, Gold Circle Films.

Pitch Perfect follows the first year of college for Beca Mitchell (Anna Kendrick) at Barden University and the moment she arrives on campus, she is given a rape whistle. Beca is ignored by her Korean room-mate Kimmy Jin (Jinhee Joung) and only another first year student named Jesse (Skylar Astin) shows a genuine interest in her. At the campus activities fair, Chloe (Brittany Snow) asks Beca to join The Barden Bellas, an all-women a cappella group, but she declares an inability to sing.  

Later in the ladies’ showers, Chloe hears Beca singing and encourages her to attend the auditions. Beca makes it into the group but she is at loggerheads with lead singer Aubrey (Anna Camp), who never strays from tradition. Meanwhile, the all-male a cappella group named The Treblemakers, also from Barden University, look set to defeat The Barden Bellas at the finals unless the girls make serious changes. However, Aubrey keeps insisting the girls stick with the same songs they have sung over the past years.

A CA-AUSSIE: Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) introduces herself as an Australian from Tasmania who can sing and dance with a specialty in Mermaid Dancing in the film Pitch Perfect. Image: Universal Pictures, Gold Circle Films.

The film concentrates on the competition preparation for the female singing group rather than the male group or both. It seems the focus on all-women groups reflect the assumption that women will fight, disagree or compete with other women even when they are on the same side. The bitchiness factor is seen mostly between Aubrey and Beca, sometimes even between Beca and Kimmy Jin. However, there seems to be very little rejection of males from other males except when Benji (Ben Platt) is not chosen to join The Treblemakers because the group’s lead singer Bumper (Adam Devine) thinks Benji is weird and nerdy. Of course, following the women’s singing group fits in with the narrative of Beca starting university and trying to fit in while creating memories and friendships, as she pursues her love of music.

A CA-SHOWER: Beca (Anna Kendrick) is caught singing in the shower after claiming she can't sing in the film Pitch Perfect. Image: Universal Pictures, Gold Circle Films. 

The misogyny is depicted when a commentator named John Smith (John Michael Higgins) who comments on competitors at the competition finals, makes denigrating remarks about women such as, “Women are about as good at a capella as they are at being doctors.” Bumper makes equally misogynistic comments such as, “You girls are awesomely horrible. I hate you. Kill yourselves.” Although, these comments can be understood to be relative only to competitive a cappella singing, it seems plausible they also refer generally to male attitudes towards women’s status in society.

A CA-ROMANTIC: Jesse (Skylar Astin) persuades Beca (Anna Kendrick) to watch the ending of the movie The Breakfast Club in the film Pitch Perfect. Image: Universal Pictures, Gold Circle Films.

Pitch Perfect can be seen as a battle of the singing sexes between an all-female group and an all-male group, but the women are the underdogs who battle not just against the males but also among themselves. Therefore it is interesting that the style of singing for the film is a cappella.

“To sing a cappella is to carry a tune without instrumental accompaniment. It’s a high-risk musical style as it is much easier to lose pitch when the orchestra isn’t providing a familiar melody. You can lose your way without a strong rhythm section to keep you on track. Young women today are living a cappella and for the most part their song is not being heard” (Robertson 1990). Not only are women’s voices not being heard enough in society but also some women are not listening to other women. A cappella singing involves harmonising and co-operation but there are disagreements among the girls in The Barden Bellas. So it is triumphant that eventually, not only do we hear women’s voices speaking in agreement but also women’s voices successfully singing in harmony in the film.

A CA-REJECTED: Benji (Ben Platt) is a budding magician but his magic skills contributed to his failure to be chosen for The Treblemakers in the film Pitch Perfect. Image: Universal Pictures, Gold Circle Films.

The cast is wonderful and engaging with excellent singing in all the musical sequences. The film is light-hearted and fun despite the seriousness of the underlying sexism and misogyny relating to female a cappella singing. Pitch Perfect is not like the television programme Glee, due to the singing style and the setting in a university instead of a high school. However, the similarities include depicting people of different races, sexualities and social class. A trend in the film, particularly among the female singers, is the use of the prefix “a ca” preceeding words, such as “a ca-awesome, “a ca-believe it”, “a ca-scuse me” that possibly is a way to endear a cappella itself as a passion among the singers.

A CA-WINNERS: The Barden Bellas perform in the finals at the International Championship of Collegiate A cappella in the film Pitch Perfect. Image: Universal Pictures, Gold Circle Films.

Pitch Perfect references films such as Mean Girls, High School Musical, Clueless and The Breakfast Club, as well as featuring some of the most popular songs from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s that include hit songs from Jessie J, Kelly Clarkson, David Guetta, Pitbull, Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus.  The target audience for this film may generally be teenage girls, but the song selections and adult themes provide some broad appeal to audiences of different ages and sexes. A sequel to this film is in production, with the cast yet to be confirmed and the release date will possibly be in 2015.

Director: Jason Moore

Writers: Kay Cannon (screenplay), Mickey Rapkin (book)

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Ester Dean, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, Ben Platt, Adam Devine, Jinhee Joung, John Michael Higgins, Elizabeth Banks, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Producers: Scott Niemeyer, Elizabeth Banks, Max Handelman, Paul Brooks, Jeff Levine, Jonathan Shore, Sian McArthur, Michael P. Flannigan

Cinematographer: Julio Macat

Original Music Composers: Christophe Beck, Mark Kilian

Film Editor: Lisa Zeno Churgin

Production: Barry Robison (Production Designer), Jeremy Woolsey (Art Director), David Hack (Set Decorator)

Costume Designer: Salvador Pérez Jr.

Reference:

*Robertson, Heather Jane, (1990), A cappella: A Report On The Realities, Concerns, Expectations By Adolescent Women In Canada. Canadian Teachers’ Federation: Professional Development Services, Ottawa, Canada, K2P 1B4.