True with my typical regime, I'll begin by noting what I found to be enjoyable. The only exception for that rule, of course, exists in a circumstance where I enjoyed nothing about a movie. In the case of Pitch Perfect 3, however, I must say that it was surprisingly funny. I don't believe I found it to be as funny as some, but I'd by lying if I said I didn't ever laugh. Believe me--the humor is stupid, but stupid can still be funny. Just look at Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Chris Rock, Melissa McCarthy, Adam Sandler...well, you get the point. I always thought Fat Amy was overrated and, frankly, somewhat annoying; but she did well in this one. Other characters brought some good one-liners to the table, and I've always enjoyed the wise-cracking of Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins (they're the announcers). Additionally, there was a good deal of physical comedy that was usually ridiculous, but still had humorous moments.
One of my issues with these movies stems from my distaste with a'cappella music. Aside from Billy Joel's "For the Longest Time," I always find myself thinking, "I mean, this is fine and all...but you know what would make it better? Instruments." However, some (not enough, though) of the music in this movie involved songs using instruments, so that was a nice change. Additionally this movie also had somewhat of a--oh, I don't know--plot. Not to say the plot was terrific or anything (more on that later), but compared to the first two movies, Pitch Perfect 3 climbed much farther along the plot-development ladder. So, the movie wasn't great, but at least I cracked some laughs and stayed engaged the whole time.
Let's talk flaws, shall we? The biggest flaw, I'd say, was that the acting was menial at best. I like Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson; and they even (unnecessarily) worked John Lithgow into this thing. That was something I enjoyed, even though it's sad for me to see brilliant actors reduced to roles like this. The rest of the characters were...just...painful. Come to think of it, I can't even tell you who any other characters are. Needless to say, without those previous three saving the show, nobody would have enjoyed this thing. To be fair, another issue was that the script--aside from some funny moments--was mediocre. It's hard to expect actors to pull off bad lines, so I can't place all the blame on them, but even rudimentary dialogue was eye-roll-inducing.
I mentioned earlier that I enjoyed the fact that this movie's plot was more developed and interesting than the previous two, but that shouldn't elude to unnecessary credit. Saying that this plot was good is far different than saying it's better by comparison, and I'm stating the latter. Most of it was random, full of montages, and resolved in an unrealistic and premature manner. Most movies have an "A" and "B" plot, which usually isn't a problem. However, Pitch Perfect 3's "B" plot was wildly unnecessary and utterly ridiculous, despite having some redeeming qualities. I'm not sure where the producers thought they were going with it, but the entire third act felt like some kiddie sitcom where everything is magically resolved in five minutes. And don't even get me started on the inaccurate time scale. Just...don't do it.
To be fair, I'm probably not the best person to talk to about this movie. My distaste for a'cappella music and wildly low expectations skew my opinion more than anything else. But I will say that if you enjoyed the first two, then you'll enjoy this one, too. If you weren't a fan of the first two like your's truly, then expect a slightly better version of the same. I can't say I would necessarily recommend this movie, but it doesn't deserve to be sent to the pawn shop, either. So, I'll give it a 50% and tell you to stream it on
P.S. The missing comma in the movie poster drives me crazy.
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