Review: Pitch Perfect 3

If nothing else, at least one can rest assured that Pitch Perfect 3 is the final entry in a franchise that should never have been. Released in 2012, the original Pitch Perfect was a crowd-pleasing charmer that made a cappella cool to the general moviegoing public whilst also propounding the power of sisterhood. Though its 2015 sequel was already showing the signs of fatigue, it was still an enjoyable affair. Not so this third instalment, which is about as tired and tiresome as it gets.

Like most college graduates, the Bellas are now facing the realities of adult life, all of them either working in terrible jobs or not working at all. Eager to reunite, they decide to join a USO tour where they find themselves competing for a chance to be the opening act for DJ Khaled's upcoming tour against the likes of the all-female rock band Evermoist, fronted by Ruby Rose, who somehow pulls off the somewhat noteworthy feat of making singing look like posing. As per usual, the Bellas engage the other groups in their signature face-offs though any resulting good cheer feels forced and wearying.

Since slight doesn't even begin to describe the story, screenwriters Kay Cannon and Mike White decide to what-the-hell proceedings and draft the ever-dependable national treasure that is John Lithgow to play Fergus, Fat Amy's (Rebel Wilson) long-estranged gangster father who ends up kidnapping the Bellas in order to get his hands on Amy's $180 million inheritance. Throw in some bland love interests for Beca (Anna Kendrick) and Chloe (Brittany Snow) plus a crisis of conscience for Beca and a chance for Fat Amy to kick some ass, and Pitch Perfect 3 eventually stumbles to its listless end.

As ever, Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins' play-by-play commentators Gail and John are the most consistent source of laughs as they passive-aggressively document the misadventures of the Bellas.

Pitch Perfect 3

Directed by: Trish Sie

Written by: Kay Cannon, Mike White

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins, John Lithgow, Ruby Rose, Matt Lantner