Pitch Perfect: You know what you're getting, but it's better than that

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F03N-ApQdmw]

Over the weekend, my wife and I couldn’t agree on whether we wanted to see Flight or Argo, so instead we settled on Pitch Perfect. Let me throw this out there: it’s about eight thousand times better than I expected.

The plot is about what you’d expect from the trailer. But the people who made this movie appear to understand that just because an audience knows where a plot will eventually take them — Anna Kendrick is a freshman girl who joins an a capella group, finds friendship, learns a lot about herself, finds romance — that doesn’t mean the entire production necessarily has to be trash.

There are many reasons the movie “works”, but here are three ways it sticks out, in a good way, that stayed with me long after I left the theater.

1 — It treats college a capella groups with a certain amount of reverence, and a certain amount of adult perspective. The a capella culture depicted is full of bizarre characters (McLovin’ makes an appearance!), but every one of these kids sincerely loves singing and performing. So, amid the joking and the hamming it up, they practice and work.

2 — It is a movie that loves its young women. NPR’s Linda Holmes uses the main character’s nails to make the point. In particular, I was struck by how female friendship in the movie is not clique-y, not torn apart by boys, and is the central force of the movie. Sure, Kendrick ends up kissing a dude near the end, but it was actually kind of dissonant, since the real climax had just occurred, when she and her a capella group sang the set of their lives.

3 — The casting was perfect. Kendrick has a musical theater background, so it’s hardly surprising she could ably handle her role. Rebel Wilson, who’s amazing in everything she does, proves in this movie that she really can do anything and ought to be a breakout star soon enough. But the most surprising turn comes from Ester Dean, who is among the most influential entertainers in the world — and I’m guessing you have no idea who she is. In short, Dean has written hooks for a bunch of hit pop songs, but hasn’t yet developed a notable performing career of her own. It’s unlikely this movie will launch her anywhere, but it could be a step in the right direction.