Pitch Perfect, review - Telegraph You really hope that the practice of collegiate a cappella singing contests isn't quite the face-clawing blood sport depicted in the musical comedy Pitch Perfect. It could be, of course - the film's Broadway-versed director, Jason Moore, and star Anna Kendrick, who was nominated for a Tony at the age of 12, are perhaps in a better position to know. Their movie strikes much the same pose about singathons as Bring It On (2000) did about cheerleading: there's nothing life affords that this lot consider more crucial. All, that is, except Kendrick's Beca, a newly enrolled alt-chick muso who thinks it's all a bit lame, until she's strong-armed into joining an all-female group and helps overturn their status as permanent bridesmaids in the championships. Kay Cannon, who wrote the screenplay, is a regular writer on 30 Rock, and the gags here offer much the same brand of "ironic" stereotyping - a death-obsessed Asian girl who's barely audible, a power-mantra-spouting princess, and a room-mate mainly notable for not speaking at all. She's Asian, too. Amusing though the movie can be, there's something missing in the warmth department. Like songs without accompaniment, its jokes lack any charm or liking for the characters. Beyond Kendrick, whose disgusted performance becomes more appealing as it goes on, Rebel Wilson, playing a self-parodying Tasmanian who calls herself Fat Amy, stands out for her super timing and willingness to look ridiculous. The success of Glee may have opened the door to this kind of fizzy talent-show flick, with its token pretence of valuing teamwork, but it might help to feel that we're watching humans.