Pitch Perfect is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore. The screenplay was written by Kay Cannon. The musical comedy features an ensemble cast consisting of Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Ester Dean, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, Ben Platt, Adam DeVine, with John Michael Higgins, and Elizabeth Banks. The plot follows an all-girl college a cappella group, The Barden Bellas, as they compete against another a cappella group from their college to win Nationals. The film is loosely adapted from Mickey Rapkin's non-fiction novel, also titled Pitch Perfect. Filming concluded in Mid-December 2011, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The film premiered in Los Angeles on September 24, 2012. Released on September 28, 2012 in the United States, Pitch Perfect grossed over $65 million domestically and 45 million dollars internationally,[2] as well as peaking at #3 at the box office. The film became the second highest grossing musical comedy film behind School of Rock.
The film was also met with positive reviews from critics, receiving an 81% positive rating on the review website Rotten Tomatoes based on 135 reviews. It was mostly praised by critics for its comedic approach, its flashy musical numbers, and the performance of Wilson.
The movie opens at the Lincoln Centre where the Nationals for a capellas are being held. An extremely popular all-male a cappella group, the Treblemakers from Barden University, perform on stage and gain popularity. Afterwards, another group, Barden's other half, the Barden Bellas, also perform. Their set starts off well until Aubrey Posen (Anna Camp) vomits on stage during her solo, thus ruining the Bella's chance of winning and becoming a public humiliation.
Four months after the Nationals, Beca Mitchell (Anna Kendrick), newly arrived freshman at Barden University, has no desire to attend college, but she is forced to do so by her father (John Benjamin Hickey), a professor at the university. Wishing she could instead move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music making, Beca takes up an internship at the school radio station, where she meets fellow freshman Jesse Swanson (Skylar Astin), who develops a crush on her. When Beca's father discovers she has not been attending classes, he comes to her with a proposition: if she joins a club and still does not want to remain at college after a year, he will allow and pay for Beca to move to Los Angeles. After some persuasion from group leader Chloe Beale (Brittany Snow), she reluctantly joins the Barden Bellas. Aubrey doesn't initially approve of recruiting Beca, but yields nonetheless due to a desperate need for members and Beca's own talent. Beca joins alongside a group of other women who do not fit the Bellas' typical mold: the misunderstood Cynthia-Rose (Ester Dean), Stacie Conrad (Alexis Knapp), the quiet Lilly Onakuramara (Hana Mae Lee), and the eccentric Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson). Jesse is also revealed to have joined the Treblemakers.
Later, the Bellas participate in the southeastern regional competition at Carolina University. In spite of their distasteful and old set list, the group manages to place second, which gives them the bid to semi-finals. A brief scuffle after the competition leads to Beca's arrest by the police. Jesse tries to help by calling Beca's father, which infuriates Beca and turns their budding friendship sour. Beca's father decides to void the deal they had made and tells her that he will not pay for her to go to Los Angeles. The Bellas surprise Beca in her dormitory. Beca suggests that the Bellas try and be a bit more daring, which everyone agrees to except Aubrey, who insists that they will win with their current set lists.
At the semi-finals, Beca notices how bored the audience is with Aubrey's traditional and overused arrangement, so she provides an impromptu back-up. The Bellas come in third in the competition behind the Treblemakers and the Footnotes; even though the audience seemed to enjoy Beca's remix, Aubrey becomes furious and yells at Beca, who in turn quits the Bellas. When the Footnotes are later disqualified from the national competition because the lead was in high school , the Bellas are called to take part in their place. The Bellas get back together after returning from spring break, with the notable exception of Beca.
During this time, Beca begins working as a DJ at the Barden radio station, playing her music on the overnight shift while also steadily distancing herself from Jesse. However, upon finding a copy of Jesse's favorite movie and watching it on her own, she realizes how much she misses him, and the Bellas, which she is convinced, by her father, to rejoin. During rehearsals, Chloe has managed to stand up against Aubrey's manipulation and her persistence. The group starts to fall apart as everyone wants to perform as the people they are and not to simply follow the old traditions of the Bellas, which sparks a fight. Meanwhile, Beca tries to apologize to Jesse, which he declines.
Beca goes to the Bellas and apologizes for her actions during the semi-finals and also asks to have another chance, which Aubrey eventually allows. After having a group heart-to-heart conversation, the Bellas appoint Beca as their group leader and decide to adopt Beca's more modern and original music style. Meanwhile, Bumper leaves the Treblemakers after being offered a job as a back-up singer for John Mayer. With Bumper gone, Jesse becomes the new group leader and persuades the Trebles to let his roommate Benji (Ben Platt) join the group in Bumper's place.
At the a cappella national competition at the Lincoln Center, the Bellas sing a piece arranged by Beca. After their performance, Beca and Jesse reunite with a kiss. Six months later, auditions are beginning for the new year while the Treblemakers and Bellas are preparing to select new members for their groups; Jesse and Benji are shown sitting at a desk in the audition hall, followed by Beca and the Barden Bellas, along with their trophy from nationals.
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