The first “Pitch Perfect” movie came out in 2012 and charmed audiences with its star-studded cast and catchy songs, sending the world into an obsession with Anna Kendrick’s “Cup Song.” The movie was given a sequel in 2012, and as of Dec. 22, the series was brought to a close with a third flick.
Any fan of the series will be familiar with Fat Amy, a character known for her large personality and continuous comic relief throughout the movies. In the first film, she jokingly announced that her real name was “Fat Patricia,” a line that was accepted as a joke and then forgotten about. Forgotten about, that is, until an entire movie was based off of it. If this sounds absurd, it’s because it is. The movie is a hot mess, and if you haven’t seen it yet, this is your spoiler warning.
“Pitch Perfect 2” closed with the Barden Bellas moving on from their college singing careers and pursuing their dream jobs. It was a nice notion that “Pitch Perfect 3” then destroyed, showing how each member of the cast found themselves doing something they hated or were awful at. In an effort to run away from their problems, the Bellas decide to sing together again. They return to the stage and compete on a tour across military bases in Europe for the chance to be DJ Khaled’s opening act on his upcoming tour.
But then the plot quickly gets out of hand. Fat Amy runs into her father – a man who is some kind of unstated criminal whose actions caused Fat Amy to run away from home at the age of 18. She changed her name to stop her father from finding her, hence the “Fat Patricia” comment in the first movie.
To put it simply — “Pitch Perfect 3” turns from a singing competition to some sort of spy movie. The Barden Bellas fight for their lives after being kidnapped over $180 million, but not before they set a hotel room on fire and release a swarm of bees on a party. The plot just gets more irrational as the movie goes on, ending with a level of absurdity that is hardly justifiable.
Honestly, the series should have ended after the second movie. It was clear that the producers wanted to make more money off of the series and were essentially grasping at straws to make a plot for a third movie. A lot of the character development in the last two movies was reversed, and the messy plot is tied up in an equally messy way that almost contradicts the beginning.
Overall, “Pitch Perfect 3” is a disaster. It is an unnecessary addition to the series that ends it on a bad note. The movie can’t decide what genre it wants to be and hardly makes any sense. While it is funny, a large amount of the humor comes from the pure absurdity of the plot. It’s definitely not worth going out of your way to watch.
Rating: 2/5
Courtney Gavitt is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at courtney.gavitt@uconn.edu.