WARNING: SPOILERS
Me - “Isn't this just Glee the
musical?”*
Not me - “Please. Don't insult it.”
I wasn't expecting much going in to
this. It sounded as though it was going to be another generic teem
musical, but I can safely say I was wrong. Yeah, it follows the usual
'team starts to disband, starts to lose their competitions, but then
all kiss and make up and go on to win the (insert sport/activity
here) in an awesome fashion and everyone is happy' storyline, but
there's still plenty going on. The story focusses on Beca (Anna
Kendrick), an aspiring DJ who is a freshman college (Uni for all of
us here in the UK). She has no interest in joining any clubs until
she is heard singing in the shower by Chloe, a member of the all-girl
a capella group, The Bellas. She reluctantly joins, but falls in love
with Jesse, a member from their all-male rival group. We see The
Bellas get knocked out of the a cappella championship as Aubrey,
their controlling lead who is a sucker for tradition, refuses to
change up the song set that they use every year but seems to be
failing. Beca throws in a little freestyle mid-routine, much to the
dismay of Aubrey and the group. SUPER TWIST NO JUTSU! The team that
knocked them out is found to have a non-college member, so The Bellas
are invited back! Aubrey calls everyone except Beca, who still turns
up because Chloe calls her, they all have a big fight, a lot of
vomiting happens and Beca becomes their new leader. She shows her
mixing and they use that to shake up the finals and eventually win.
Never saw that coming...
Sounds like your bog-standard teem
flick, right? Well, throw Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) in the mix and you
get something much, much different. Not quite stealing the show, so
to speak, but standing out as a major player, Wilson made the film
for me. She is obviously the comic relief, and plays it very well.
She doesn't follow the norm for a character in a film like this, and
makes chuckle-worthy comments and quips throughout, breaking up the
tension and drama. Although there is an element of student life and
Beca's relationships during the film, the main focus is most
definitely the musical numbers. The energy put into the performances
is momentous and you can tell that the guys and girls have all either
had previous dance training, or have put a lot of work in for this
title.
I wasn't disappointed at anything, but
at the same time, I wasn't blown away. The acting was solid, the
story and characters interesting, and the performances enjoyable. The
final 'battle' between The Bellas and the Treblemakers was the climax
of the film and most definitely worth the wait, with great renditions
of popular songs.
Not a guy film, but still a fun watch.
- Three and a half pitch pipes out of five
*Only after saying it, I realised that
'Glee the musical' is as redundant as saying ATM machine. Fail.
