2018 Film Review: Pitch Perfect 3 (2017)

Directed by: Trish Sie
Written by: Kay Cannon, Mike White
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow
IMDb Link

Pitch Perfect 3 seems to be the last hurrah for the Barden Bellas, and while they don't go out with a bang, it's not quite a whimper either.

After a reunion, the Bellas go on a USO tour with DJ Khaled for one last string of performances. If they perform well enough, they get to open for Khaled. That's essentially the whole plot for the first half of the movie, and the movie doesn't pretend to be more than an excuse to let the Bellas do their thing. Even the other contestants don't behave as cartoonishly bad as they did in previous series, content to throw out the occasional jab and otherwise just get in on the performances.

Aside from that, the film tries to be about moving on with the next chapter of your life while still remembering the past, supporting the success of your family, all that good stuff. There isn't a lot of thought put in to this either, it's just the film incessantly trying to put out positive vibes while it rushes through character conflicts and plot with careless abandon. It's inoffensive and mildly entertaining, with character comedy that's hit or miss, and a lot of unnecessary detail that comes off as a half-attempt to turn the silliness up to eleven.

The film does follow through on this, but it's only for five minutes with a conflict that wasn't introduced until the half-way mark of the movie. The film is essentially flimsy writing built around consistently themed music videos, which doesn't make for a very good movie, but does showcase what these movies had always done well, including the seemingly authentic camaraderie of the girls. 

The Short Version: Pitch Perfect 3 is light, comfy, and more of the same. It's lack of story or real conflict is compensated by how genuine it all is about just having an excuse to have fun, a final sendoff that focuses on the music, the work everyone did together.

Rating: 5/10

Published January 3rd, 2018