Written by | Ray Cornelius
“Pitch Perfect 2” opens nationwide in movie theaters this weekend and let me be the first to say it will have you rolling in the aisles. The Barden Bellas are back and it looks like they have some serious international competition. While I don’t want to give the movie away, fans of these a Capella singing divas will be over the moon with their versions of the some of the biggest hits from 90’s hip-hop and R&B. But according to the film’s cast—Ester Dean, Hana Mae Lee and Flula Borg—a sequel wasn’t part of the plan.
“This movie [Pitch Perfect] didn’t plan on having a sequel,” says Dean. “The fact that we have a sequel is because fans wanted one. That’s why I don’t feel that we have to sell to the fans what the sequel is about because they made it happen. We consider it a fan made sequel and if there’s a ‘Pitch Perfect 3’out there…let’s get it!”
Dean and her fellow co-stars also believe that the popularity of the film is because people see themselves in the characters and realize that it’s ok to be different. “When you’re growing up, these are the movies that really inspire you because you’re so looking forward to getting older and wanting to know what it’s like and often struggle with who you are and how you’re accepted,” says Lee. “I think in this movie as well as in the first one, you really get to see everyone as who they are, whether it’s awkward or uncomfortable. I think teenagers really gravitate towards that because that’s what they’re going through and they get to see it in all ten of the characters which is great because then there are at least one or two that they can relate to.”
Dean went on to further say that the Pitch Perfect movies are not “mean” films. “Everybody’s a Hana. Everybody’s a Cynthia. Everybody’s an Ester or a Fat Amy. I think that’s why the characters resonate with so many people because these are the characters that would have normally been talked about or put down. Instead they bring beauty to Fat Amy’s character by showing you that she’s the sexy one or the hot one. This is what attracts people to the film because it’s the opposite of what they see in real media. It’s the opposite of what they would do to a lesbian, black girl or an Asian girl.”
YouTube sensation turned actor, Flula Borg, who plays the archenemy to the Bellas in the film, also feels that the music is the other connection amongst the fans. “Everyone can connect to these great songs and to hear them reimagined is really cool. So I believe that is a very natural way to bring people into the movie.”
Check out the film’s trailer below:
height=350Pitch Perfect 2 is in theaters NOW!
Photo Credits: RayCornelius.com