College a cappella competitions supply a stage for nerd-and-raunch bits with a fetching indifference to formula: no one here really cares about the outcome of the final number at the national finals. Jason Moore (“Avenue Q”) directs a comic screenplay by Kay Cannon (“New Girl,” “30 Rock”), working from Mickey Rapkin’s book “Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory.” Beca (Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”) gets free tuition at a liberal arts school because her dad is Comparative Lit prof there, but this pouty freshman with the mean Asian dorm mate would really rather be out in L.A. getting a start in the music industry. Her dad makes her join a campus organization. Beca picks the Bellas, an a cappella group stocked with sitcom-style characters. But Rebel Wilson (“Bridesmaids,” “Bachelorette”), as Fat Amy from Tasmania, should steal far more scenes. Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) has a tiny voice to deliver nearly inaudible one-liners like “I set fires to feel joy” and “I ate my twin in the womb.” Other oral issues include bouts of projectile vomit triggered by stage jitters. “Pitch Perfect” admittedly has its laughs but its shelf life as a backstage comedy may be as brief as the canceled NBC series “Sing-Off.” With Ben Platt, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins. 112m. (Bill Stamets)
College a cappella competitions supply a stage for nerd-and-raunch bits with a fetching indifference to formula: no one here really cares about the outcome of the final number at the national finals. Jason Moore (“Avenue Q”) directs a comic screenplay by Kay Cannon (“New Girl,” “30 Rock”), working from Mickey Rapkin’s book “Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory.” Beca (Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”) gets free tuition at a liberal arts school because her dad is Comparative Lit prof there, but this pouty freshman with the mean Asian dorm mate would really rather be out in L.A. getting a start in the music industry. Her dad makes her join a campus organization. Beca picks the Bellas, an a cappella group stocked with sitcom-style characters. But Rebel Wilson (“Bridesmaids,” “Bachelorette”), as Fat Amy from Tasmania, should steal far more scenes. Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) has a tiny voice to deliver nearly inaudible one-liners like “I set fires to feel joy” and “I ate my twin in the womb.” Other oral issues include bouts of projectile vomit triggered by stage jitters. “Pitch Perfect” admittedly has its laughs but its shelf life as a backstage comedy may be as brief as the canceled NBC series “Sing-Off.” With Ben Platt, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins. 112m. (Bill Stamets)
