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Pitch Perfect

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Not to be confused with Perfect pitch.

Pitch Perfect
File:Promotional poster for film "Pitch Perfect".jpg
Promotional poster
Directed byJason Moore
Screenplay byKay Cannon
Produced byElizabeth Banks
Paul Brooks
Max Handelman
Starring
CinematographyJulio Macat
Edited byZach Chemberlene
Music byChristophe Beck
Mark Kilian
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • September 28, 2012 (2012-09-28)
Running time
112 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$17 million[2]
Box office$113,042,075[2]

Pitch Perfect is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore.[3] The screenplay was written by Kay Cannon.[4] The musical comedy features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Ester Dean, Alexis Knapp, Adam DeVine, with John Michael Higgins, and Elizabeth Banks. The plot follows a women's college a cappella group, The Barden Bellas, as they compete against another a cappella group from their college to win Nationals. The film is loosely adapted from Mickey Rapkin's non-fiction book, titled Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory. Filming concluded in December 2011, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[5]

The film premiered in Los Angeles on September 24, 2012.[6] Released on September 28, 2012, in the United States, Pitch Perfect grossed over $65 million domestically and $45 million internationally,[2] as well as peaking at #3 at the box office.[2] The film became the second highest grossing musical comedy film behind School of Rock. The film met with positive reviews from critics, receiving an 81% positive rating on the review website Rotten Tomatoes based on 137 reviews.[7] It was praised by critics for its comedic approach, its flashy musical numbers, and the performance of Wilson.[8][9]

Plot

At a national a capella competition, the Barden University's all-female a cappella group, the Barden Bellas, performs well until Aubrey Posen projectile vomits on stage during her solo. They are publicly humiliated, losing any chance of winning. Four months later, newly arrived Barden freshman Beca Mitchell, has no desire to attend college, but she is forced to do so by her father, a professor at the university, with whom Beca has a strained relationship. Wishing she could instead pursue a career in music making, Beca spends her time making mash-up mixes of songs and takes up an internship at the school radio station, where she meets fellow freshman Jesse Swanson, who is immediately attracted to her.

When Beca's father discovers she has not been attending classes, he comes to her with a proposition: if she joins a club and still does not want to remain at college after a year, he will allow her to leave and pay for Beca to move to Los Angeles to pursue her music career. After some persuasion from group leader Chloe Beale, she reluctantly joins the Barden Bellas. Aubrey doesn't initially approve of recruiting Beca, but yields nonetheless due to a desperate need for members and Beca's talent. Beca joins alongside a group of other women who do not fit the Bellas' typical mold: Cynthia-Rose, Stacie Conrad, Lilly Onakuramara, and Fat Amy. Jesse is also revealed to have joined the Bellas' all-male rival group, the Treblemakers.

The Bellas participate in the southeastern regional competition at Carolina University where, at Aubrey's insistence, they perform the same medley that helped the Bellas advance to the finals the previous year. In spite of their old set list, the group manages to place second, which gives them the bid to semi-finals. A brief scuffle after the competition leads to Beca's arrest by the police. Jesse tries to help by calling Beca's father, who then tells Beca that he will no longer pay for her to move to Los Angeles. This infuriates Beca which turns her budding friendship with Jesse sour. In the meantime, Beca suggests to the Bellas to try and be more daring, but Aubrey insists that they will win with the repertoire the group has always used in the past.

At the semi-finals, Beca provides an impromptu back-up of one of her favorite songs into the "traditional" song on the Bellas' set list to reinvigorate the crowd after they seemed to have lost interest. The Bellas come in third in the competition behind the Treblemakers and the Footnotes. Even though the audience seemed to enjoy Beca's remix, Aubrey becomes furious with Beca, who in turn quits. When the Footnotes are later disqualified from the national competition because the lead singer was in high school, the Bellas are called to take part instead. The Bellas reform after spring break, with the notable exception of Beca. During rehearsals, Chloe stands up against Aubrey's stubbornness. The group starts to fall apart, which sparks a fight. Meanwhile, Beca tries to apologize to Jesse, which he declines. Beca then apologizes to the Bellas for her actions during the semi-finals and asks to have another chance, which Aubrey eventually allows. After having a group heart-to-heart conversation, the Bellas decide to adopt Beca's more modern and original music style. Meanwhile, group leader Bumper leaves the Treblemakers after being offered a job as a back-up singer for John Mayer. With Bumper gone, Jesse persuades the Trebles to let his previously-rejected roommate Benji join the group in Bumper's place.

At the a cappella national competition, the Bellas sing a piece arranged by Beca, which includes "Don't You (Forget About Me)" a song featured in Jesse's favorite movie The Breakfast Club. This acts as a more effective apology from Beca, and after the performance, Becca and Jesse start kiss. The Bellas win the national competition and six months later, auditions for new members take place.

Cast

  • Anna Kendrick as Beca Mitchell, a reclusive and rebellious Barden freshman who wants to pursue a music career; she joins the Barden Bellas to appease her father and finds herself being caught up in their world.
  • Skylar Astin stars as Jesse Swanson, an outgoing Barden freshman who hopes to one day become a film score composer due to his great love for films. He joins the Barden Treblemakers.
  • Anna Camp as Aubrey Posen, the uptight and traditionalist co-leader of the Bellas; when she vomited at Nationals the previous year, she ruined the Bellas' chance at winning . She is constantly critical and insists that The Bellas use the same set list the Bellas have been using for years.
  • Brittany Snow as Chloe Beale, the kinder and more civil co-leader of the Bellas, whose attempts to get Aubrey to listen to Beca's suggestions get ignored. Chloe gets "nodes" (nodules) but continues to sing when she discovers she could sing in a substantially lower tessitura following the surgery.
  • Rebel Wilson as Fat Amy/Patricia, a comedic and eccentric member of the Bellas from Tasmania.
  • Ester Dean as Cynthia-Rose Adams, a lesbian member of the Bellas.
  • Alexis Knapp as Stacie Conrad, a highly sexually-driven member of the Bellas.
  • Hana Mae Lee as Lilly Okanakamura, a strange member of the Bellas who speaks too quietly to be heard but is later revealed to be a talented beatboxer.
  • Ben Platt as Benji Applebaum, Jesse's nerdy roommate and an illusionist, who is initially rejected from the Treblemakers, and is later accepted.
  • Adam DeVine as Bumper Allen, the egotistical leader of the Treblemakers.
  • Utkarsh Ambudkar as Donald, Bumper's right-hand man, who beatboxes, raps, and is a main vocalist.
  • Freddie Stroma as Luke, the radio station manager who plays Beca's DJ mixes on the air.
  • Jinhee Joung as Kimmy-Jin, Beca's unfriendly Korean roommate.
  • Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Tommy, the university's constantly harassed audition launcher.
  • John Michael Higgins as John Smith, a misogynistic commentator for the ICCAs.
  • Elizabeth Banks as Gail Abernathy-McKadden, a commentator for the ICCAs.
  • John Benjamin Hickey as Dr. Mitchell, Beca's father, a professor at the college who insists that she attend classes and get involved.

Production

The film is based on Mickey Rapkin's non-fiction book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory. Rapkin, senior editor at GQ magazine, spent a season covering competitive collegiate a cappella. He followed the Tufts University Beelzebubs, the University of Oregon Divisi (the loose inspiration for the Bellas), and the University of Virginia Hullabahoos (who have a cameo in the film), writing about the singing, groupies, partying and rivalries. Two members of the a cappella community, Ed Boyer and Deke Sharon, both in Rapkin's book, were brought on board to arrange songs, produce vocals and act as on-site music directors.[10] The film was shot throughout campus and inside buildings at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[11] Elizabeth Banks is a co-producer and a co-star in the film.[11]

Casting

The casting department included Justin Coulter, Rich Delia, Allison Estrin, and Michael Roth.[12] Producer Elizabeth Banks appears throughout the film alongside John Michael Higgins as commentators for the competitions.[13]

Paul Brooks stated "First and foremost, we were looking for actors who had comedic instincts and thought we'd get lucky with terrific actors who happened to be funny and can actually dance and maybe sing. It turns out we did get lucky with our cast!"[14] According to producer Elizabeth Banks, "The character Beca required someone who was grounded, who has a strong point of view on the world, who is funny and empathetic and someone who we can all relate to and root for." Of Kendrick she said, "Anna is all those things, and there was no other choice." Fellow producer Brooks said "I saw Anna in Up in the Air and thought it was the most exquisite, elegant, balanced, sublime performance. Anna was our first choice for the role of Beca."[14] When casting the character of Jesse, Max Handelman said "We were looking for a young John Cusack-type guy. We needed to find someone who was kind of awkward but not a geek, but not so cool that you're not rooting for him." Skylar Astin was chosen for the role. Of Astin's audition, Banks said the chemistry between Skylar and Anna when they read together prior to shooting was "clear and they were able to riff off each other."[14]

Rebel Wilson was recognized for her performance in the comedy film Bridesmaids upon auditioning for the role of Fat Amy, which she won instantly. Moore recalled Wilson singing Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory" while beating "on her chest with her fists". He said, "I didn't even hear the end of the song because I was laughing so hard. There's this beautiful openness to the way Rebel approaches everything, and that's what works great for the character. She's fearless".[14] Adam DeVine was personally chosen by Banks and Handelman for the role of Bumper after they saw him on the television series Workaholics. Banks confessed that she and her husband are "big Workaholics fans" and after watching one night during the film's casting, they saw DeVine and "immediately thought" he would be a good choice for Bumper. He declined because he wasn't a singer. DeVine eventually surprised Banks and Handelman with his vocal skills.[14] Anna Camp was chosen for the role of Aubrey. Producer Max Handelman said, "Elizabeth and I were huge fans of Anna's from True Blood. Aubrey is set up as the antagonist for Beca, and Beca's already a bit hard-edged, so it was so important to find an actress who could play Aubrey as someone who could marshal the crazy but also was sympathetic."[14]

Release

The world premiere took place on September 24, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.[6] Pitch Perfect has earned $64,666,000 (63.5%) in the United States, and a further $37,200,000 (36.5%) elsewhere, for a worldwide box office gross of $101,866,000 since release.[2] The film opened to limited release in the United States and Canada on September 28, 2012 and wide release in the United States and Canada on October 5, 2012. It grossed $1,755,935 upon its opening day of limited release and $4,889,050 on its wide release.[15] In its opening weekend the film opened at number 3 behind Taken 2 and Hotel Transylvania grossing $14,846,830 million.[16] The opening weekend audience was 81 percent female, which is considered overwhelming. The opening weekend also attracted a younger audience with 55 percent of the opening weekend audience being under the age of 25.[17] The film has become the second highest grossing music comedy film, behind School of Rock ($81.2M). It is also the seventh highest grossing college comedy film behind Road Trip (68.5M).[18]

Home media

Pitch Perfect was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 18, 2012.

Critical reception

Rebel Wilson was praised for her performance by critics.

Pitch Perfect received generally positive reviews, currently holding an 81% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 137 reviews[7] as well as 66 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 33 "generally favorable reviews".[19] NPR's David Edelstein selected it as one of the top films of the year[20] and Entertainment Weekly chose the soundtrack as one of the year's best.[21]

Accolades

List of awards and nominations for Pitch Perfect
Award Category Nominee(s) Result
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Actress in a Comedy Rebel Wilson Nominated
Detroit Film Critics Society Award Breakthrough Performance Rebel Wilson Nominated
Motion Picture Sound Editors[22] Best Music in a Musical Feature Film Pitch Perfect Won
MTV Movie Award[23] Best Breakthrough Performance Rebel Wilson Won
Best Musical Moment Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean and Hana Mae Lee Won
Best WTF Moment Anna Camp ("Hack-Appella") Nominated
Best Female Performance Rebel Wilson Nominated
People's Choice Award Favorite Comedy Movie Pitch Perfect Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Rebel Wilson Nominated
Teen Choice Awards[24] Choice Movie: Comedy Pitch Perfect Won
Choice Movie Actress: Comedy Anna Kendrick Nominated
Choice Movie Actress: Comedy Rebel Wilson Won
Choice Movie Actor: Comedy Skylar Astin Won
Choice Scene Stealer Ben Platt Nominated
Choice Scene Stealer Hana Mae Lee Nominated
Choice Breakout Performance Adam DeVine Won
Best Villain Adam DeVine Won
American Music Awards Top Soundtrack Pitch Perfect Won

Soundtracks

Main article: Pitch Perfect (soundtrack)

Pitch Perfect: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released digitally on September 25, 2012, and physically on October 2, 2012.[25] Three of the songs from the album, including the highly covered "Cups", charted on the Billboard Hot 100. As of July 2013, the album has sold 913,000 copies in the US, making it the best selling soundtrack of 2013.[26]

Sequel

Producer Paul Brooks and director Jason Moore told Variety that since the reception to the film was good, a sequel could potentially happen next year. In December 2012, Skylar Astin revealed that he and Rebel Wilson had meetings with Universal Studios about the potential sequel.[27]

On April 16, 2013, it was confirmed that a sequel would be released in 2015.[28]

References

  1. ^ "PITCH PERFECT". British Board of Film Classification. September 4, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Pitch Perfect (2012)". Box Office Mojo.
  3. ^ "Pitch Perfect Trailer, News, Videos and Reviews". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  4. ^ "Pitch Perfect (2012)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  5. ^ "Pitch Perfect (2012) – Filming Locations". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "'Pitch Perfect' Premiere Arrivals: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Elizabeth Banks Gallery". The Hollywood Reporter. September 25, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Pitch Perfect – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  8. ^ Chris Tookey (December 21, 2012). "Pitch Perfect review: Rebel Wilson is a star of the future as Fat Amy hits the right note". Daily Mail.
  9. ^ "Honor Roll 2012: 'Bachelorette' and 'Pitch Perfect' Breakout Rebel Wilson On Picking Up the Roles "Other Actresses Don't Want"". Indiewire. November 8, 2011.
  10. ^ "PITCH PERFECT – Production Notes". Cinema Review. 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  11. ^ a b "'Pitch Perfect' finds ideal shooting locations on campus". Lsureveille.com. November 3, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  12. ^ "Pitch Percect (2012); full cast and crew". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  13. ^ Stransky, Tanner (November 28, 2011). "Elizabeth Banks talks 'Hunger Games' and new film 'Pitch Perfect'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "Production Notes" (PDF). Universal Studios. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  15. ^ "Pitch Perfect (2012) – Daily Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  16. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for October 5–7, 2012". Box Office Mojo.
  17. ^ "Weekend Report: 'Taken 2' Kills, 'Frankenweenie' Fails". Box Office Mojo. October 7, 2012.
  18. ^ "Pitch Perfect (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  19. ^ "Pitch Perfect Reviews, Ratings, Credits and More". Metacritic. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  20. ^ Edelstein, David (December 21, 2012). "David Edelstein's Top 12 Movies of 2012". NPR. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  21. ^ Valby, Karen (December 6, 2012). "'Les Miserables' and the best movie soundtracks of 2012". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  22. ^ King, Susan (January 17, 2013). "'Argo,' 'The Hobbit' in contention for Golden Reel awards". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  23. ^ Warner, Denise (April 14, 2013). "2013 MTV Movie Awards winners list". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  24. ^ Ng, Philiana (May 22, 2013). "Teen Choice Awards: 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2' Leads First Wave of Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  25. ^ "Pitch Perfect Track List" (PDF). Universal Studios. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  26. ^ Paul Grein (April 10, 2013). "Week Ending April 7, 2013. Albums: Timberlake Is Livin' La Vida Loca". Yahoo!.
  27. ^ Orange, B. Alan (December 19, 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: Pitch Perfect 2 in the Works; Rebel Wilson to Return". MovieWeb. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  28. ^ Smith, Grady (April 16, 2013). "'Pitch Perfect' sequel coming in 2015". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
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