‘Pitch Perfect 2’: Offensive and flat compared to original

As the young audience of mostly teenage girls squealed in excitement in AMC 14 on May 15, I prepared myself to watch an amazing sequel that I expected to be just as good as the original, if not better: “Pitch Perfect 2.” I clearly remembered the harmonic singing and gripping storyline from the first movie, and I was anticipating no less for the second one.

Unfortunately, my expectations were barely met.

The movie’s humor depended on offensive jokes rooted in racist stereotypes. For instance, when a competition host compliments one Latina dancer’s skill in gymnastics, her co-host John Michael Higgins replies that she should “jump back over the border to [Mexico].”

Although these jokes cross the line into being offensive, most of the audience was laughing. Even more alarming was that none of the viewers around me, who were mostly females, seemed to be at all offended by any of the anti-female jokes: The audience burst into laughter when Higgins continued to comment on how women are incapable of accomplishing anything.

Fortunately, what the movie lacks in tact, it makes up for in music. The a capella singing is absolutely angelic. The mash-up of the songs was just as harmonious, if not more, than that of the first movie, and the songs are modernized to fit current pop trends. 

“Pitch Perfect 2” takes it one step further by including several Internet and global celebrities as special guests. These include president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, the Green Bay Packers football team, infamous YouTuber Flula Borg, singer Snoop Dogg, YouTube-famous acapella group Pentatonix and the nationwide-famous University of Pennsylvania all-male Indian acapella group, Penn Masala.

Each of these guest appearances is a pleasant surprise, and most of the guests have important singing roles, including the surprisingly vocally talented Green Bay Packers.

Although the singing itself is impressive, the chemistry of the characters does not rival the original. There is only one prevalent character relationship in the movie, which I must admit is quite hilarious and cute. However, unlike the first movie, the sequel offers no suspenseful or gripping relationship. 

In the first movie, the constant suspense of whether the two protagonists would become a lasting couple helps drive the story along. In this movie, the most important male character, the boyfriend of protagonist Beca Mitchell (Anna Kendrick) Jesse Swanson (Skylar Astin), has only a supporting role.

Because “Pitch Perfect 2” lacks a high-stakes relationship, it fails to provide a central conflict to complement the expected a cappella competition.  The sequel turns out to be no more than a flat, story-less movie. The movie only has a few minor conflicts along the way, which are usually cliché and revolving around the idea of teamwork. When resolving these conflicts, the characters use cheesy lines, such as “we found our [a capella team’s] harmony.”

Despite my reservations about it, I must admit that this movie does an excellent job at staying fresh despite the occasional overused line. I am confident that an individual who has not ever heard of the first movie can grasp the main idea of the sequel and understand the plot easily.

Still, I would recommend this movie only to  thick-skinned individuals who are not easily offended by stereotypical jokes and don’t need a gripping storyline.