Tags
Movie Tag-Line
Get pitch slapped!
Plot Summary
Beca Mitchell makes a deal with her dad: she’ll attend college for a year and join a club, and if after the year she still wants to move to LA and pursue a musical career he’ll help pay for it. Chloe, overhearing Beca sing in the shower, ambushes her and talks her into joining the all-girl a cappella group the Barden Bellas. Though she gets along with other group members such as Cynthia-Rose, Stacie, Lilly, and Fat Amy, she and group leader Aubrey don’t get along. Aubrey wants to win, but she’s unwilling to step outside the mold to do so, whereas all Beca wants to do is shake things up.
Critical Evaluation
This movie is trying to capitalize on two recent trends in Hollywood – singing and women-based comedies – but it’s not content to merely be a group of women singing and telling sometimes surprisingly vulgar jokes. Though it never reaches the depth it may have hoped for, it does offer some good lessons through not just Beca’s storyline but Audrey’s too. Certain literary elements are done with a heavy-handed, but it doesn’t lessen the enjoyment of the movie. For example, during the movie, Jesse tries to prove films are enjoyable by trying to get Beca to watch the Breakfast Club, which is the famous symbol for outcasts coming together, but Beca tries to get out of it. As expected, near the end Beca watches the movie, and comes to the realization of the life lessons being part of the Barden Bellas had spent the movie trying to teach her. With an enjoyable cast and script, this movie serves as a good piece in the collection for entertainment purposes alone.
Genre
Movie
Curriculum Ties
Humor, romance, realistic/issues and contemporary life, GLBTQ Issues
Movietalking – Three Ideas
1. What song would you sing for your audition?
2. Create and/or mash-up clips to create a trailer for the movie
3. Create a cover as if the movie was a book
Viewing Level
PG-13
Challenge Issues
This movie may be challenged because of language, sexual content, and underage drinking.
2. Familiarize yourself with the book in question; look up both positive and negative. reviews and see if the book has been banned before. (If so, see what they did about it.)
3. Try talking to the person about the specific complaint they have. See if a compromise can be reached.
4. If not, request a written, detailed complaint about what the problem is, what effect it is having on (all) the students, and suggestions on what it should be replaced with.
5. Start the review process. Have a review committee provide the school board with a final report. Explain to the complainant how the process works.
6. While the complaint is being explored, keep the material available to others.
References
Banks, E. (Producer), Brooks, P. (Producer), Handelman, M. (Producer), & Moore, J. (Director). (2012). Pitch perfect [Motion picture]. USA: Relativity Media & Gold Circle Films