But of course nothing comes easily for the Bellas and they are up against other music acts who are aca-sceptics and aca-doubters who use real instruments (gasp) and don’t appreciate their aca-talents. There’s also the added complication of the surprise appearance of John Lithgow as Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson’s) dodgy, estranged criminal father (and Lithgow looks like he’s having an excellent time hamming it up). Then there’s Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins, the acerbic and consistently hysterical commentators of the Bellas’ story. They have been highlights of this series from the start, and are so again. My main criticism here though is that I missed Bumper (Adam Devine). The screen time for the Treblemakers has been reducing film by film and in this movie there’s no appearances from Skylar Astin or Ben Platt either. It’s terrific that the film is entirely carried by this extremely talented group of women, but I missed Bumper and Fat Amy together. It seems a shame that we don’t get to see Bumper meet Amy’s dad, too. If you were a fan of the first two instalments then Pitch Perfect 3 has you covered, though – it is a satisfying end to a very fun set of films. It may all be a bit predictable but you get a fun time, Craig from Hollyoaks playing a music executive and John Lithgow.. As I left the cinema a girl behind said, “they definitely could do another one”. Perhaps not, though. Perhaps it’s right that the Bellas leave us wanting just a little bit more.
title: “Pitch Perfect 3 Review” ShowToc: true date: “2025-07-29” author: “Edwardo Washington”
In Pitch Perfect, Anna Kendrick’s Beca is desperate to escape the ivory tower to head to LA and begin her career as a music producer. At the start of Pitch Perfect 3, she is a music producer, but the reality doesn’t live up to the expectation, and so Beca quits her job and heads to Europe with her motley gang of singing weirdos to entertain the troops. It’s Aubrey’s (Anna Camp) military dad who gets the girls the gig, however, and that tells you a lot about the stakes here. It’s hard to root for an a capella group to get a much-coveted spot as the opening act of DJ Khaled’s upcoming tour when they never seem to practice, perform, or in anyway work towards their apparent goal as serious musicians. It’s not just the competition that is half-heartedly constructed here. The stakes are so fleeting and nonsensical to mean almost nothing in Pitch Perfect 3. Will Beca get with the hot British music producer? Will Chloe (the always solid Brittany Snow) hook up with the hot American soldier? The movie doesn’t pretend to care. It’s all an excuse for the Bellas to dress up in militaristic and/or nationalistic outfits and sing some songs. But no one shows up to Pitch Perfect for the plot, and the movie itself seems to know that. At one point, Chloe exclaims, “I knew there would be a competition!” as if the script heard the Bellas’ earlier lament that there wasn’t one and half-heartedly created it mid-movie to give the girls a tangible goal. As with the previous movies, the best parts of the narrative and character development have little to do with a competition or potential love interests, but in the found family that is the Barden Bellas. Consider how damning it otherwise is that two of the main love interests from the previous movies are written out with a casual conversation in the first act. No one notices, and it’s unlikely anyone in the audience will care either. Sadly, that version of the aca-triogy’s final installment was never meant to be. Fingers crossed for the inevitable revival that will probably be announced in a scant few years. In the meantime, this is the supposed swan song for the popular trilogy. Come for the jokes, the song and dance numbers, and the female camaraderie. Stay for… well, for those things. That’s what this movie has going for it.
