Review of Pitch Perfect 3 (2017) by Omar L — 27 Dec 2017

The joy of the first two Pitch Perfect movies lay in not simply the music, but the specificity of a capella as a style. The challenges that the Barden Bellas faced as an all-women troupe of singers were what drove the stories and competitions of the first two movies. Additionally, the antagonists in these movies themselves had talent and charm, and it is such a shame to see none of those faces return for this third installment. While Anna Kendrick's Becca fulfills an arc that came with her introduction, the rest of the characters not only fare less than stellar, but their motivations within this movie are gone. It was obvious from the get-go that the story was hastily cobbled together, with a plot so thin that even when the movie references how convenient things are or how expository lines sound, it doesn't come off as post-modern, but just lazy.

It may seem horrific to say, but I wanted to see more male a capella singers in this movie, specifically Jesse, Bumper, and Benji. The lack of groups such as The Treblemakers and Das Sound Machine (or even the Green Bay Packers!) leave a gaping hole in the movie that not even Fat Amy/Fat Patricia's unnecessary story could fill. It's a very disappointing follow-up to two genuinely fun movies.