Pitch Perfect 3 Review - A Bit Pitchy

Pitch Perfect 3 is the imperfect, unneeded but feel good conclusion to the trilogy that appeased many screaming girls and boys who used to follow the Bellas and their daily trials and tribulations. I’m a Pitch Perfect virgin - meaning I’ve caught glimpses of the world-loved pop icons Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson have become but I’ve never experienced a Pitch Perfect film in its tribute to Ryan Murphy’s Glee (which I religiously inhaled) and the best of Steven Soderbergh’s comedy.

So imagine my surprise when I walked into Pitch Perfect 3 expecting so much as the film gleefully declared, “Last Call Pitches.” Pitch Perfect 3 starts out smart and funny, with clear skies and no warning signs ahead. But as Rebel Wilson continues to own the film, everything around her seems to fall apart. The first half (to anybody reading from Hollywood, our films are divided into the first and second half - there’s an intermission where you sneak out to get a popcorn and a coke which you’ll stuff your face with in the second half), to director Trish Sie’s credit remains spunky and fun - not easy as we are introduced to the Bellas three years after the proceedings of the last film.

They could easily come off as unlikable old people who don’t really seem to be the focus of a truly ‘millennial’ film. Yet, the girls, all of them (the plethora that I cannot count) leave you falling in love with their quirkiness. This is a testament to the girls who force you to listen to them and attract your attention. Mainly Anna Kendrick, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Chrissie Fit and Alexis Knapp. The girls all keep you hooked even as Trish loses her grip on the story and us.

Surprisingly and rather ironically, the film’s strongest point - the iconic and hilarious Rebel Wilson playing the eponymous Fat Amy ends uo beiung the loose thread as Sie attempts to tie the bow on her creation. The film revolves around the girls who reunite one last time for a concert for American troops across the world (to the director’s credit, there is no sense of misguided patriotism thrown into the mix) and this is where Amy meets her father who had abandoned her years ago. John Lithgow plays the loosely written character to the best of his ability but ends up being the one things that unloosens Pitch Perfect and threatens to derail the entire series. Which is a shame. Because there is so much to like here. Whether the music sung nicely, Anna Kendrick’s performance or Rebel Wilson’s sheer fantastic-ness (yes, I just used THAT word), Pitch Perfect could’ve gotten a 3.5 star rating and we could’ve parted with this franchise in a happy way. Pitch Perfect was on its way to become the Lage Raho Munna Bhai of Hollywood. A truly spectacular and needed sequel to a stellar film. But, alas, Pitch Perfect 3 ruins what I’ve heard to be some great reviews of the first two. Elizabeth Banks is also here, taking potshots at the Bellas.

From what I’ve seen of the first film, Banks’ characters was charming and moreover, relevant. Here she’s just an unnecessary addition to the already overcrowded film. Now, I can go on criticising Pitch Perfect 3. Or I can admit that a little part of me loved it. I loved the glamour of it all. I loved the DJ Khaled appearances, I loved the songs that I got to sing again (especially Toxic) and yes, while haphazard, I loved the film and I think die-hard fans of the franchise will too. Because above all it is what it promises to be. A musical comedy that will tickle your insides. I use the opening line of Golmaal Again to state ‘No Logic, Only Magic’. Which is what Pitch Perfect 3 is to a certain extent. No logic, only magic.

That’s magical enough in itself. For Rebel Wilson, Anna Kendrick and the rest of the talented girls who worked in this film and for the franchise in general - I’m going with 3.5 stars out of 5 for Pitch Perfect 3. It’s an imperfect film but it’s not the wrong one. It may have its loose ends throughout but still, is a crowd-pleasing film, something that this genre needs.