Some of you may recall from a previous post that I had acquired an addiction for watching the trailer of Pitch Perfect.  It is a blessed relief that this movie came out this weekend in select cities, one of which I inhabit, because I needed more to base this obsession on than the trailer and brief promo clip alone.

In talking to people about this movie, both before and after seeing it, there seem to be a lot of preconceived notions out there as to what this movie is all about.  I thought this would be a good opportunity to debunk some of those myths while also gush about how much I FREAKING LOVED THIS MOVIE!

Let’s proceed, shall we:

1. This is a Glee rip-off – They are singing at a school and, yes, they go to Regionals with aims for Nationals.  But that is pretty much where the similarities end.  One of my moviegoing comrades put it well when she described it as “Bridesmaids with a capella”.  This is Glee with a heck of a lot more bite.

2. All of the funny lines are in the trailer – False.  The truth of the matter is that they can’t put all of the funny lines in the trailer because of that “approved for appropriate audiences” disclaimer.  Let’s just say, this movie went to levels I was not expecting it to go to, but I was happy to ride along.

3. Rebel Wilson is the only good part –  There is no denying that Rebel Wilson is a major scene-stealer, but I feel like the trailers are making her seem like the only funny character when that isn’t the case.  Every character seems to have their moment to shine, especially the girls in the Bellas.  For example, there is the soft-spoken Asian girl who says her lines so quietly that the other girls don’t hear her talking about her time in County or how she ate her twin in the womb.  And then there’s the boy.  Being the type of movie that it is, there has to be a boy.  Skylar Astin’s Jesse is both charming and dorky at same time, which suits me just fine.  Ladies, go see it and tell me if you aren’t swooning by the end.

4. A Capella music?  Please. – This one is harder for me to address, because I find a capella to be entertaining.  I don’t listen to it on a regular basis, but it is definitely entertaining to see performed.  That said, a capella aside, the mash-ups in the movie are really cool, unique, and not necessarily all current top 40, which I found refreshing.   Did I buy the soundtrack when I got home?  Guilty.  If loving fun mash-ups is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

5. That’s a total chick movie – Speaking as a chick, I can’t definitively say that all dudes would love this movie, but I believe I can safely say that any guy that would be dragged to it by his girlfriend/sister/mother/girl he is pursuing would leave the theatre being pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed it.  There was a fair amount of the menfolk in our (sold out) screening and there didn’t seem to be any sour faces in the lobby afterwards.

Bottom line:  I was beyond excited to see this movie and my expectations were exceeded.  It was everything I wanted it be and more.  If you don’t take pleasure in the joys that life has to offer, then you probably shouldn’t see this movie, but if you are into that then you might like it.  All I know is that this movie was the most fun I’ve had at the theatre in a long while.

Did you see it this weekend?  Do you want to see it?  Did I change your mind about seeing it, for better or worse?  Let me know!

–Ellen