Pitch Perfect 3 review

PITCH PERFECT 3:

FAT AMY HAS JUMPED THE SHARK, AND ASIDE FROM A FEW LAUGHS AND CHARMING MOMENTS THIS THIRD OUTING LOSES ITS “PITCH”!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

The Bellas are back for a third round in Pitch Perfect 3

            I remembered back in late 2014-early 2015 when I first heard the announcement of a sequel to the 2012 comedy hit, Pitch Perfect and was ready to hate it. But I ended up coming out of Pitch Perfect 2 surprised and laughing very frequently much like its predecessor.

            So, what was I expecting when Pitch Perfect 2 was announced? THIS! Pitch Perfect 3, a third installment of a comedy trilogy that ranges from generic fluff to complete nonsense with very few laughs.

            It’s a shame because the first two movies surprised me in their own ways, the first movie I hardly had any knowledge of the film or interest in seeing it but after a watch I ended up laughing hysterically. The second movie as mentioned before I had very low expectations for, but thanks to some more humorous jokes, good timing, and a downright hilarious German acapella group I found it to be a solid follow-up…that managed to beat out Mad Max: Fury Road at the box-office.

            Pretty much the opposite effect happened to me with this movie, now that I had two movies that surprised me, made me laugh, and established the characters, I was ready to laugh at one last night of singing with the Bellas. Sadly, it did not happen much with this one, this movie deserves a hard “Pitch” slapping.

            After winning the World Championships, the Bellas are split apart and realizing there isn’t a market for making music with your mouth. So, Becca (Anna Kendrick-The Twilight Saga, Scott Pilgrim VS the World, Into the Woods), Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson-Bridesmaids, Pain & Gain, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb), Emily (Hailee Steinfeld-True Grit (2010), Ender’s Game, The Edge of Seventeen), Chloe (Brittany Snow-American Dreams, Whisper of the Heart, Hairspray (2007)), Aubrey (Anna Camp-True Blood, The Good Wife, The Mindy Project), Lilly (Hana Mae Lee-Workaholics, Mike & Molly, Patriot), Cynthia-Rose (Ester Dean-Ice Age: Continental Drift, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, RuPaul’s Drag Race), Flo (Chrissie Fit-General Hospital, Filly Brown, Sake-Bomb), Stacie (Alexis Knapp-Project X, Ground Floor, Urge), Jessica (Kelley Jakle-42, Scorpion, Resident Advisors), and Ashley (Shelley Regner-Home & Family, The John Kerwin Show, The Sneak) get back together for one last performance at an overseas USO tour.

            However, there’s one catch, the USO tour is a tournament where the Bellas must compete against bands who use instruments. Can the Bellas win the competition with nothing but their mouths or will it be curtains for the once loved acapella group?

            The film also stars John Michael Higgins (Ally McBeal, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, The Legend of Korra) as John Smith, Elizabeth Banks (Spider-Man trilogy, The Hunger Games franchise, Power Rangers (2017)) as Gail Abernathy-McKadden Feinberger, John Lithgow (3^rd Rock from the Sun, Shrek, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) as Fergus, Ruby Rose (XXX: Return of Xander Cage, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, John Wick: Chapter 2) as Calamity, Matt Lanter (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ultimate Spider-Man, Timeless) as Chicago, guitarist, Andy Allo as Charity, Guy Burnet (The Affair, Chicago Fire, Hand of God) as Theo, and DJ Khaled as himself.

            Overall, Pitch Perfect 3 is a pretty underwhelming and at times confused third installment of the franchise. It certainly isn’t one of the worst comedy sequels I’ve ever seen but compared to the unexpectedly humorous second installment, it really misses the mark.

            The writing lacks the wit of the earlier films and most of the jokes miss, not even Fat Amy is safe from the bad jokes as one of her earliest jokes is ripped right out of the infamous Good Burger. I certainly can’t blame the cast because they’ve had two films prior that made me laugh hard and they’re all decent actors, it’s just a lousy script that doesn’t give them much to work with.

            But with that said, there are a few jokes that are legitimately funny, some of Fat Amy’s lines get a laugh (When they’re done with thought), John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks as the two commentators are hilarious whenever they’re on-screen, and there’s a joke involving the quietly-spoken Lilly so funny I dare not give it away here.

            Unfortunately, they’re not enough to save the film’s ridiculous plot and pacing which at first, you’re probably wondering “It’s a Pitch Perfect movie, how can the plot be ridiculous?” Well, most of the film is pretty much what you would expect, Bellas get back together, perform at the USO show, compete in a music tournament, and all sorts of hijinks ensue. But then it transitions to a casino scene that’s actually more awkward than the one from Star Wars: The Last Jedi and eventually turns into a James Bond style action movie with Rebel Wilson fighting a bunch of people on a boat, it’s so inconsistent and feels like you’re watching a completely different movie.

            I will give credit to Rebel Wilson’s energy and seeing her battling people on a boat is funny, the problem is it doesn’t belong in this movie. Fat Amy has jumped the shark…as hilarious as that mental image looks.

            It’s definitely not as bad as some of the other movies I watched this year like The Emoji Movie, Baywatch, or Transformers: The Last Knight but out of the Pitch Perfect movies, it’s a “Pitchin’” disappointment. Sorry Bellas, but Pitch Perfect 3 is not worthy of an encore.