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MOVIE REVIEW

Pitch Perfect

MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for sexual material, language and drug references.

Reviewed by: Russell Emory
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults Teens
Genre: Music Comedy
Length: 1 hr. 52 min.
Year of Release: 2012
USA Release: September 28, 2012 (limited—335 theaters)
October 5, 2012 (wide—2,700+ theaters)
DVD: December 18, 2012
Copyright, Universal Picturesclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Universal Pictures

acoustic singing group

a cappella

harmony

songs

music in the Bible

Featuring Anna KendrickBeca
Elizabeth BanksGail
Christopher Mintz-PlasseTommy
Skylar Astin … Jesse
Ben Platt … Benji
Brittany Snow … Chloe
Anna Camp … Aubrey
Rebel WilsonFat Amy
Alexis Knapp … Stacie
See all »
Director Jason Moore
Producer Brownstone Productions
Gold Circle Films
Elizabeth Banksproducer
See all »
Distributor Distributor: Universal Pictures. Trademark logo.Universal Pictures

Films in this series:
Pitch Perfect” (2012)
Pitch Perfect 2” (2015)
Pitch Perfect 3” (2017)

Ever since the surprise success of the Fox TV show “Glee” audiences have been exposed to the world of choirs, high school show choirs, and the world of a capella. The film “Pitch Perfect” deals with the latter of the three.

“Pitch Perfect” stars Anna Kendrick as Beca, an incoming freshman at Barden College who is forced to go to college by her father who just happens to be a professor there. Beca aspires to be a DJ and producer in Los Angeles, but is forced to go to college. While avoiding a conversation with her father, Beca takes to the quad to check out the clubs on campus. Here is where she meets Chloe (Brittany Snow) and Aubrey (Anna Camp), the two senior members and captains of the Barden Bellas, the female a capella group.

The Bellas are looking for a second chance to win a national a capella championship after their debacle the year before in which Aubrey nervously vomits on stage. The Bellas are plagued by rival group and national champions the Treble Makers, who are an all male group. The second big difference between the groups, besides the gender of the members, is the Trebles, as they are referred to, never do the same song twice. While the Bellas do the same three songs year after year.

Beca gets a job at the campus radio station where she meets fellow freshman and Treble Jesse. Jesse and Beca begin a friendship that is close to romantic, but, as the audience finds out, Beca pushes others away like her father, Jesse, and the Bellas. Beca eventually joins the Bellas after an awkward scene between Chloe and Beca in the dorm showers where Beca sings for Chloe and begrudgingly agrees to audition for the Bellas to appease her. Beca eventually joins the Bellas which leads to tension because Beca wants to change things up, while Aubrey wants to keep things the same.

Obscene or suggestive gestures are littered throughout the movie. In the shower audition scene, Chloe is in there with a man but the extent of what the audience sees is the feet of the individuals. The scene in the showers could be particularly offensive to many, but the extent of the exposure of the characters is implied. Beca is seen behind frosted glass but nothing is shown. As for the scene with Chloe, both Beca and Chloe are only shown from the shoulders up. There is also a scene where all but one of the Trebles are in a hot tub together. They are a ten member group.

The movie attempts to toe the line with decency. The movie is by no means obscene like many comedies this year like “The Watch” or “The Campaign.” Some of the humor is completely unusual and borders on the absurd. One character called Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) is constantly making wild statements. One of my personal favorites is when she says she wrestled a croc and a dingo at the same time. She is also from Tasmania, which is unusual.

As for language the s-word is used at least half a dozen times. One character uses the letter F to imply swearing. Many of the profanities (a__, d__n, h__l, b___h) used on broadcast prime time TV are littered through the film. The Lord’s name is used as a profanity once or twice, but again the vulgarity of the movie is in the innuendos and what is implied. There is also a scene of drinking in the movie, and characters talk about drug use, but like the sex in the movie it is never seen.

I did not find the humor extremely offensive, I know there are many out there who would, but I did not. I thought the characters were well developed, and the movie was well paced. The arrangements of the songs the groups performed were very entertaining. The performances outside of the competitions also made sense, unlike in “High School Musical” or “Glee” where characters randomly break out in highly choreographed production numbers while walking down the hall.

“Pitch Perfect” could take itself overly serious and be a poster film for how cool a capella choirs are, but it doesn’t do that. “Pitch Perfect” embraces a capella with all of its warts and blemishes, and brings it to the world as is. Overall, I recommend this movie, but if you are easily offended, then please stay away. I have described the content of the film; it is up to you to see the film or not.

Violence: Minor / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—I went and saw this movie with my boyfriend, who is a pastor, and we both found it very enjoyable. However, he and I are both on the more liberal side of humor, and it takes a lot to offend either of us. I don’t recall much swearing, however I don’t really notice swearing, no matter how offensive. There was a lesbian character who randomly groped some of her peers, but it wasn’t disgusting or overly-pushed, just funny because of how awkward she made it. There was a gross scene with vomit, which was completely and utterly ridiculous, thus making it more amusing. I recall there being a few scenes of underage partying (at least, I think it was underage. I don’t recall the characters ages), and Fat Amy does make some sexual comments and uses her body to make several insinuations.

In the end, I’m glad I saw it, and I was very happy with it. If you’re extremely conservative, you might be better off watching something else.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Jenny, age 20 (USA)
Positive—There is very little cussing (in fact, no traditional 4 letter words are used, only slang for some anatomy), no nudity shown at all, and minimal violence. The shower scene is completely innocent and mildly innuendos at BEST. You see two sets of feet in one shower and Beca’s bare back (not backside) for about 2 seconds… There are some adult jokes, but it is all veiled and never directly mentioned or discussed. Sex is joked about, but not at all shown.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Thea, age 25 (USA)
Positive—Due to my love of music, I decided to check out this movie. I loved it! Of course, there are moments that are a bit inappropriate, but nothing too terrible. Yeah, the vomit scene is gross, but hilarious.

The music is great! The movie itself is funny and not just a never-ending stream of vulgarity as some seem to think. There is some coarse language, moments of drinking and implied sexuality. The characters are diverse in ethnicity and personality. The acting is generally good. Lots of laughs. The overall filming quality is great. I would say tho film is not appropriate for anyone younger than 14. It’s also not necessarily appropriate for conservative types. …
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Steph, age 30 (USA)
Neutral
Neutral—This movie did make me laugh however it is only for mature audiences. There are homosexual parts between two girls, there are two extremely gross throwing up scenes and some very inappropriate humor. I took my thirteen old and very much regretted it. Adults will mostly likely find it very funny.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Laura , age 49 (USA)
Negative
Negative—This film was extremely offensive. There are sexual comments throughout the film. I do not recommend this movie, at all. From shower scenes, some of the songs, general dialog, you are constantly bombarded with sexual language and images. It really shows that in today society’s, sex sells. Society has been so consumed by it, that we excuse crude and highly sexual jokes, just to be entertained.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Brian, age 25 (USA)
Negative—This movie is a typical college movie. While I was hoping that this movie would be more about performing, it was almost entirely about sex. It was basically following young adults” sex lives. There was drinking, and this was presumably underage, as some of the students are freshmen in college. The jokes are crude, and the movie was very disappointing. The first meeting of the group, 2 girls get kicked out for having had sex with someone from another group after drinking the night before. Sex was advertised as okay, just not with those people.

We ended up turning it off about halfway through. I would not recommend this movie to anyone. It is sad that Hollywood can’t make a movie about a story line without making it all about sex. This teaches young girls that sex is what is important in life, and it teaches young boys that this is all women are worth. Too many people are engaging in careless sex outside of marriage, and movies like this promote these lifestyle choices, which do not glorify God or show love to our neighbors.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: none
Amanda, age 25 (USA)
Negative—I watched this movie because so many people were raving about how great it was. But I, unfortunately, did not feel the same way. The singing was terrific, no complaints on that, I thought the idea of acapella groups was great, but they distorted the movie with all the inappropriate language and humor. There’s quite a few references to sex, along with a scene of two girls naked in the shower. I was really disappointed. The only thing I liked about this movie was the music; I would not recommend it, and I certainly wouldn’t watch it with my family or siblings.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Kendra, age 19 (USA)
Negative—If you don’t like graphic, over-the-top vomit scenes, this movie is not for you. It is vulgar, predictable, and not very well acted. It has a few good one-liners, but, for the most part, the humor is intentionally off-color and offensive. Catchy songs, horrible writing, and worldly morals are displayed in spades. Although it was entertaining, I couldn’t wait for the movie to end.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 1½
Elaine, age 18 (USA)
Comments from young people
Positive—…I saw this movie tonight, and I thought it was really good. There are some moral elements to it, such as Aubrey being humble and forgiveness. There is a bit of swearing, and the Lord’s name is profaned, but I thought it was a really cool and happy movie, and I really enjoyed it. I did not find it offensive, at all, even though some things were a bit inappropriate, I do not think it is vulgar or anything. I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone under 13 though.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Melanie, age 16 (New Zealand)
Neutral—I really like this film, mainly because it was just so funny. It was very enjoyable, and I laughed so much. It was a very happy movie, and it is a really good film. However, there were some pretty inappropriate parts in the film, which they could have maybe toned down, or not have in the film. Also, there was quite a lot of swearing and blaspheming, so that wasn’t good and really let the film down. Also, if people are quite squeamish, then there are two scenes were a character is violently sick, so you might want to avoid that bit of the film. Overall, I loved this film, because it is so funny and lighthearted and puts you in a good mood. I would like to see it again, though I don’t recommend it to younger viewers.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Connie, age 15 (United Kingdom)

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