Pitch Perfect 2

"Aca-Wiedersehen bitches!"

The Barden University Bellas are 3-time national champions and preparing to start their senior year.  All that comes crashing down during their performance for the President's birthday, when Fat Amy (Wilson) has a wardrobe malfunction.  They are barred from competing at a collegiate level and are not allowed to recruit new members.  They are still allowed to compete in the World Championship of A Capella, and if they win they will be reinstated.

With the stakes high, Chloe (Snow) wants everyone to commit 100% to the group and find a way to win.  A US Team has never won, and the competition is fierce.  Their main competition is the German team, Das Sound Machine, led by Kommissar (Hjort-Sorensen) and Pieter (Borg), who took over the Bella's championship tour.  Beca (Kendrick) has an internship at a recording studio, but keeps it a secret.  Can the Bellas pull together and win the title with the help of their newest member, legacy Emily (Steinfeld)?


I loved the original Pitch Perfect and was excited for the sequel.  I was especially excited to see Pentatonix (winner of The Sing-Off Season 3), Penn Masala, and the Filharmonics in their small roles.  It was a good film, but not as good as it could be.

Most of the original cast returned for this film.  But the new characters were not all welcome additions.  The two new Bellas felt like a waste, when it meant that the Bellas from the first film had less to do.  Chrissie Fit's Flo was pointless and Hailee Steinfeld's Emily was annoying for most of the film.  Each had a few nice moments, and Emily has a great voice, but it wasn't enough.  The quirky characters from the first film, like Ester Dean's Cynthia Rose, Alexis Knapp's Stacie, and Hana Mae Lee's Lilly, barely had any lines and I missed their characters.  Also, Kelley Jakle's Jessica and Shelley Regner's Ashely still barely did anything and I wish their characters had been explored further.  Even Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow don't get to do as much in this film.

Like the first film, the Riff-Off is the best scene.

I also enjoyed the camp scenes and their random medley of songs (also the return of Anna Camp).

The finale is a bit of let down, it's good but not awesome.  The main guys from the first film are back again, this time they are just the boyfriends and only sing a few times.  Adam DeVine's Bumper has a bigger role, but he is funnier as the villain.

It's not a bad film, but when compared to the original Pitch Perfect, it just doesn't hit the right notes.  A third film is planned for 2017, and scribe Kay Cannon (who wrote all of the Pitch Perfect films) is penning the script, with the main cast set to return.

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) 115 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for innuendo and language
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Anna Kendrick as Beca Mitchell
Rebel Wilson as Fat Amy
Hailee Steinfeld as Emily
Brittany Snow as Chloe
Skylar Astin as Jesse
Adam DeVine as Bumper
Katey Sagal as Katherine
Anna Camp as Aubrey
Ben Platt as Benji
Alexis Knapp as Stacie
Hana Mae Lee as Lilly
Ester Dean as Cynthia Rose
Chrissie Fit as Flo
Birgitte Hjort-Sorensen as Kommissar
Flula Borg as Pieter Kramer