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I’ve yet to figure out the magic ratio where how much I’m laughing at a movie balances how much I’m cringing. And I did a lot of both during this sequel that finds the a cappella Barden Bellas—Beca (Anna Kendrick), Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), freshman newcomer Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) and company—trying to atone for a humiliating Kennedy Center performance by winning the World A Cappella Championships. Returning screenwriter Kay Cannon once again offers up some great punch lines, and hilarious individual moments for Wilson and Keegan Michael Key (as a music producer with whom Beca has an internship). But there’s also a flimsier structure holding it all together, with too many subplots cutting into the musical numbers. Mostly, though, there’s a lot of genuinely off-putting identity-based humor, and not just stuff where the joke is on the oblivious political incorrectness of announcers John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks (who also directed). If your only joke for the Latina girl is that she’s an illegal immigrant, or for the gay girl that she’s indiscriminately horny, maybe you need to put in a little more effort.
Official Site: www.pitchperfectmovie.com
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Producer: Paul Brooks, Max Handelman, Elizabeth Banks, Scott Niemeyer and Jason Moore
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Katey Sagal, Anna Camp, Ben Platt, Alexis Knapp, Hana Lee, Ester Dean, Chrissie Fit, Birgitte Sørensen, Flula Borg, Kelley Jakle, Shelley Regner, John Hodgman, Jason Jones, Joe Lo Truglio, Reggie Watts, John Higgins and Elizabeth Banks
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Producer: Paul Brooks, Max Handelman, Elizabeth Banks, Scott Niemeyer and Jason Moore
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Katey Sagal, Anna Camp, Ben Platt, Alexis Knapp, Hana Lee, Ester Dean, Chrissie Fit, Birgitte Sørensen, Flula Borg, Kelley Jakle, Shelley Regner, John Hodgman, Jason Jones, Joe Lo Truglio, Reggie Watts, John Higgins and Elizabeth Banks
