Pitch Slapped

As I bragged about last Thursday, I went to see Pitch Perfect with Paula and Jackie.

I was invited to an advanced screening as part of my involvement with Disney (which makes me scratch my head a little because the film is from Universal, but I wasn’t going to complain!) and as a representative of the media/press. I’ve gone to several of these movies screenings now and there are rules. The most important rule being no phones or cameras. I emphasized SEVERAL times to Paula and Jackie that they couldn’t bring their phones in and if they try they will confiscate them (they don’t fool around). So we get there, settle into our “press seats”, and then a woman shouting announcements tells us to get our phones out to tweet. Umm what? I got some big eyed stares from my friends. I made them go back in time to the year 2000 for NO GOOD REASON.

The night got weirder. First, a local high school a capella group performed for us (we were wondering why the people sitting in front of us had their video camera out!) . They were very, umm, passionate. Then, after the movie started, one of the performers had some kind of seizure — which resulted in the movie stopping  and all of us sitting around whispering about what was going on. I’m not sure how long we waited (maybe 15-20 minutes), but the movie started again once the EMTs safely took the kid out of the theater. Whew. I hope he is doing well!

OK, so on with the movie. I went in thinking it would be an edgy Glee. Now, the first season of Glee , I admit, I LOVED.  Anything after that… meh. So let’s just say that while I was excited to see the movie, I didn’t have high expectations. The movie DEFINITELY proved me wrong!

The story is generic — a girl (Anna Kendrick) goes to college even though she doesn’t want to be there. Girl joins a capella group against her will (kinda) and then hijinks ensure. It actually reminded me a little bit of Bring It On (which I secretly love) and a little of Mean Girls (which I not-so-secretly love).  There’s a love interest, an on campus rival group, some puking, and a lot of singing and dancing. What makes this movie stand out to me is that it KNOWS it’s a cliche, it embraces it, and makes fun of itself. That’s what makes is so damn fun!

The best parts are unexpected, sometimes raunchy, always witty (did I mention the movie was written by one of the writers of 30 Rock?). This includes  the commentary (Elizabeth Banks steals the show, in my opinion – but I do have a huge crush on her, so I might be biased), the personalities and quirks of the characters (Rebel Wilson is an ALL STAR, but there are some other really fun characters too), and the songs (although, I don’t really feel the need to hear The Sign by Ace of Bass any time soon).

There were few characters that I disliked – even the ones I was supposed to hate were redeeming. In the end, yes I was a complete goon dancing along with the songs (only wishing I could sing) and I COMPLETELY agreed with Paula when she said this is what Glee SHOULD be. I’m not going to say it’s the best movie in the world, but it was a fun 2 hours and it was cuter, funnier, and smarter than I expected. Looking for a fun movie with your girlfriends (or if you’re talented maybe your a capella group)? This one is for you!

Will you get “Pitch Slapped”?