Pitch Perfect 2

I guess this is what it would be like in a conquered world under a dictatorship of Pentatonix. No, that would not be as good as you may think. So too with this movie. Again, as in the first installment, the story is little more than a skeleton of a plot upon which a series of musical set pieces are hung. That would be fairly entertaining in and of itself, if all the songs were great tunes, but many of these are not. At least the vocal work is still very high quality. And many of the principal actresses are real charmers, which helps lift the appeal, while Rebel Wilson gets in a slew of genuinely funny lines. All in all, this record may be a bit warped, but it still delivers enough good sounds to make putting it on the turntable a decent thing now and then. 

Pitch Perfect

It is nigh on impossible to watch this movie without wearing a smile, or at least a bemused grin, on your face. The musical numbers are wildly entertaining...which is good, because really, that's about all there is to this flick. The storyline, such as it is, is only the most skeletal framework upon which to hang this series of singing set pieces, all of which feature impressive talent on the part of at least some of the cast members. Even where anyone might be lip-syncing, the dubbing is done so well that most viewers won't be able tell. What's interesting to note is that many of the musical selections date back to a time when most of the putative college students here, in a movie released in 2012, would not have been born yet. More evidence that kids of the '80s are dominating movie-making these days. So if you're of a certain age--I am--then this flick should have some appeal even if it's not entirely your thing. And, if all else fails, you get to spend two hours hanging around with Anna Kendrick--hardly difficult duty. PURRing isn't singing, but this film works well enough to make even the Bad Cat make a joyful noise.

Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates

I avoided this movie at first because I loathe Adam DeVine. I ultimately broke down and watched it because I love Anna Kendrick. I figured the one would cancel out the other--and for long portions of this movie, it works out that way. The revelations here are Aubrey Plaza and Zac Efron. The latter is charming and an oddly effortless fit for such ridiculous humor; and if I'd known how funny and cute Plaza could be, I might have checked in on this one much sooner. As for the movie as a whole, it works, up to a point. For a long stretch of its relatively short running time, the film is fearlessly funny, making plenty of comedic hay with healthy doses of crude but not gross humor. Unfortunately, it pulls its punches towards the end, going for the sap instead of sticking to its guns. Plus DeVine eventually goes over the top and makes an ass out of himself instead of letting the comedy do the work for him. Not even the delightful Ms. Kendrick can redeem that act. There are certainly enough laughs to make this one worth a look, if you've got spare time to kill; but it could have been a lot better, with either more or less restraint (depending), and perhaps slightly better casting.