There is something off-key about “Pitch Perfect 2,” the sequel to the surprise hit 2012 comedy about a ragtag all-female a cappella group.
The film is basically two movies overstuffed into one a ca-bloated, nearly 2-hour behemoth.
Set three years after the first movie, the sequel starts with a performance by the Barden Bellas for President Barack and Michelle Obama where Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson, hilarious as always) accidentally shows her privates to the first couple.
Then it’s back to Barden University where Beca (Anna Kendrick) and the rest of the crew are admonished by the media, banned from performing on any national a cappella competition and are no longer allowed to recruit new singers.
The Bellas broker a deal that if they win the international a cappella competition in Europe — which an American team has never won — they’ll be allowed to perform again.
In between this moment and the competition across the pond, they’re all over the place: a riff-off, a retreat, a practice performance, a car show, Beca’s internship, a giant party. There’s just too much going on and the movie suffers.
The best parts of the film involve some of the supporting cast. The riff-off, which was the highlight of the first movie, features an especially weird David Cross hosting four a cappella groups (with some great cameos.) And Keegan-Michael Key steals the show as Beca’s hipster-hating boss in one of the many subplots.
Unlike the first movie, which had some great a cappella music performances, the sequel comes up lacking. Some songs are fun, like Wilson’s seriously funny cover of Pat Benatar’s “We Belong,” but it’s a lot of the same jokes with the Bellas running all over the place.
Someone call an a ca-editor.
