Pitch Perfect 2

Nobody saw Pitch Perfect coming. A comedy about competitive a cappella singing? Oh, yeah, bound to be a smash.

But here’s the thing: it became a smash. Therefore, a sequel was pretty much a foregone conclusion. Follow-ups are always tricky though, especially to a hit that took people by surprise. So it’s understandable that Pitch Perfect 2 feels a little wobbly at times. Still, it mostly works, mainly because the talented and game cast are in tune and giving it their all.

It’s been three years since college singing squad The Barden Bellas took the world of competitive a cappella by storm, thanks mainly to Beca (Anna Kendrick, nimbly funny and charming) shaking up the group’s old routine.

But things go awry for the Bellas when they’re publicly humiliated during a performance in front of President Obama, thanks to a revealing wardrobe malfunction on the part of Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson, who I just don’t get, sorry).

The a cappella community’s powers that be ban the group from further public competition, but Beca negotiates a deal that’ll get the Bellas back in the spotlight – all they have to do is win a prestigious international contest. But that means going up against an invincible German outfit that (hilariously) performs with military precision. 

So it’s an underdog story — again. But let’s face it; it’s highly likely that the Bellas are eventually going to get back in synch and emerge victorious, right?

It’s therefore a matter of how many twists and turns there’ll be on the road to redemption, and how smooth or bumpy the ride will be.

Pitch Perfect 2 knows what works — energetic musical numbers, jokes that are goofy, a little racy and often appealingly odd – and it delivers in those departments. But the story that’s supposed to hold it all together is so flimsy that a slight breeze would knock it flat.