Sequel Sounds Off Key
A sequel to the 2012 hit, Pitch Perfect 2 follows college a cappella group, the Barden Bellas.
This time around, the stakes are higher: They’ve been suspended from performing, and in order to be reinstated, they have to win a cutthroat international competition that no American team has ever won. We’re split on how we feel about the trailer, but overall, the best part of watching it was when we realized Flula Borg is in the film. Borg is an actor/DJ who has gained attention in large part because of his humorous YouTube videos, like this one: youtube.com/watch?v=gjwofYhUJEM. Pitch Perfect 2 opens in wide release May 15.
JAMES: I’m not familiar with this would-be franchise, but everything about it seems familiar, right down to the scene of all the characters tearfully bonding the night before the big contest.
PAIGE: The premise of the sequel seems to be coasting forth based on a flimsy, “Well, everyone loved the first one so they’ll come see this one just for the music, right?” plot.
CHRISTINA: I feel like they just rely a lot on making fun of Rebel Wilson because she is a chubby girl, which is cheap and not funny. She’s overweight, so that somehow makes it hilarious? The beginning is just cringe-worthy — treating like seeing her vagina is disgusting just because she is a larger person. Juvenile and dumb.
JAMES: I agree on how offen-sive it is for Rebel Wilson to be the butt of all jokes based on her size. I’ve seen other trailers for this movie where she performs one pratfall after another, and the humor relies on her weight. Why should it be funny that she feels like she is the “hot one” in the group? Why was that played up as a punchline? In an interview regarding this, she stated that, “Bigger girls do better in comedy … maybe because people find it easier to laugh. It’s hard to laugh at someone who’s very attractive…” So it’s great that she’s proud of her work, but I feel it’s a brand of self-effacement that’s pandering to what she feels the masses want.
JAIMIE: There are elements of Pitch Perfect that I like, mostly that it involves singing and a cappella. But the humor seemed cheap and forced, and really only perfect for nights when you’ve had just the right amount of alcohol.
PAIGE: I feel like making fun of Europeans is, like, the safest thing you can possibly do in a comedy. No one can complain that you made fun of someone with a Russian accent.
CHRISTINA: Is the European guy the same dude who does the funny YouTube videos from the car? The guy who gets all confused about terms like “party pooper?”
NICOLE: Flula Borg! His You-Tube videos are amazing. “Jennifer poops at parties? So, she poops at parties and peoples know this? I poop at parties, but people don’t know because I close the door.” Same. I want to see Pitch Perfect 2 just to support Flula. And (this is a safe place, right?) I really love musical movies. I love Glee. I love Disney films. I love show tunes.
CHRISTINA: Also, we have had this discussion before, but Anna Kendrick bores me.
PAIGE: I have friends who swear that Anna Kendrick would be an ideal girlfriend due to her approachability and general “cool” vibe.
JAIMIE: Yeah, Anna Kendrick is a bore.
CHRISTINA: It sort of confuses me that she is so boring. I like many of her movie choices — Up in the Air, Drinking Buddies, Happy Christmas — and she is pretty hilarious on Twitter. Oh, and I think she is friends with Aubrey Plaza, who seems like a fantastically weird person. But she is just never all that captivating in her films.
JAIMIE: I think it has to do with the fact that she doesn’t emote anything and her voice always sounds monotone. I know that people like Aubrey Plaza are the same way, but she’s turned it into this likable quirk.
