PITCH PERFECT 2

 Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs and Paul Gibbs

GRADE: C
Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Katey Sagal, David Cross, Kelly Jackle, 
John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks
Screenplay by Kay Cannon
Directed by Elizabeth Banks

The formula for making a sequel to a comedy is painfully simple: "You like that joke? Well, I'm going to tell it to you again, this time even louder!"

2012's charming, light as a feather comedy Pitch Perfect is one of those formulaic underdog crowd-pleasers that has a cult following that worships it as a Pagan God, and while we don't place it quite that high, it's easy to see why it has such loyal fans. It's filled with clever dialogue, endearing characters and toe tapping musical numbers that can't help but make you smile.  Anna Kendrick's voice was a revelation, and Rebel Wilson, aka Fat Amy, was a breakout comedy star with a persona that was actually empowering: yes, her name was "Fat Amy" ('I call myself that so skinny bitches like you won't,' she explained), but she wasn't a punchline. She was the one who made others into a punchline, and her confidence and sense of self worth made people actually want to be her. And frankly, when she sang and danced, she could be downright sexy.

The most egregious of Pitch Perfect 2's many flaws is that they have completely abandoned this idea and betrayed everything that made this character great, establishing in the first scene that this time around, she's not only one continuous cheap fat joke, but they are constantly looking for ways to make her more and more repulsive.  So for those who accuse us of going too hard on a frothy piece of entertainment, we feel that the giant step backwards that this movie takes in undoing the genuine good it's predecessor accomplished is not only worth decrying, it's our responsibility to take the filmmakers to task over it.

The first film plot followed a college women's a capella group, The Barden Bellas, as they compete against another a cappella group from their college to win Nationals. The film was loosely adapted from Mickey Rapkin's non-fiction book, titled Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory.

This time around, freshman Beca Mitchell (Kendrick) is a senior (as are all of the others.). The movie opens with the Bellas embarrassing themselves badly in an incident involving Fat Amy having have a wardrobe malfunction while performing for President Obama at the Lincoln Center. As a result, the Barden Bellas are suspended from the circuit of A Capella performing. In order to regain their status, the Bellas enter the international competition, a colossal task seeing as how no American team has ever won (and yet ironically, everyone sings exclusively in English.). 

Subplots include Beca becoming distracted by her internship at record label, which may give her the chance to realize her dream of becoming a music producer; the arrival of a new Bella (played by Hailee Steinfeld) who feels intense pressure because she is a "legacy" (her mother and her mother before her were Bellas), and even a romance for Fat Amy, which is of course, endlessly hysterical, because (snigger) . . .  someone finds the overweight girl desirable, and they even have (guffaw) sexual intercourse!

Pretty much all of the same scenes are in there, just broader: the big freestyle jam competition this time takes place in the home of an eccentric billionaire played by David Cross, who structures it in a game show format, and this time the bonding between the Bellas takes the form of going on a retreat in the woods, complete with people getting caught in booby traps, the camp across the lake where the boys are (really? These are college seniors here) and the obligatory campfire scene.

The movie is not without it's little chuckles here and there, and the cast retains a degree of their charm despite the total absence of any character arcs and a feeling that most of them are phoning it in. This is not unwatchable by any means, and die hard fans of the original will probably eat it up (get it? Eat it up? Like Fat people do when they are fat? Hahahahaha!). But for those who truly hold the original in high esteem, they may find that this only detracts from that and want to forget its existence. Elizabeth Banks returns along with John Michael Higgins as the snarky announcers, but this time Banks also takes the directing reigns. We tried not to let her previous directing experience in segments of Movie 43 prejudice us, as we have always enjoyed her as an actress and she was a hoot in the first film, but she simply has no discernible talent behind the camera, and no sense of good taste whatsoever.

If you must see a chick flick comedy this summer, you could certainly do worse than this, but you more definitely have every reason to demand better.